Rishabh Pant has seemingly rediscovered his form, delivering a performance that echoes his earlier brilliance. Following a remarkable Test century, Pant has equaled former India captain MS Dhoni in a significant achievement. This was Pant’s 7th Test century, and his 4th against England. On the third day of the opening Test, Pant took a crucial catch, contributing to his entry into an elite list of Indian wicketkeeper-batters with 150 Test catches.
Pant has now joined Dhoni and Syed Kirmani as the only wicketkeepers to reach this milestone. Pant achieved 150 catches in 44 matches, while Dhoni took 90 matches to claim 256 catches and Kirmani secured 160 catches in 88 games. Pant’s recent performance included him surpassing MS Dhoni as the most prolific Indian wicketkeeper to score a century in a Test game, scoring his seventh on the second day of the first Test at Leeds. Pant reached the milestone by hitting a six off Shoaib Bashir. This century was his first since September 2024, when he scored 109 against Bangladesh.
Dhoni scored 4,876 runs with 6 tons and 33 fifties in 90 Tests, averaging 38.09. Pant, in 44 Tests, has scored 134 runs off 134 balls (12-4; 6-6), 3000 runs in this inning, and 15 fifties with an average of almost 44. Wriddhiman Saha, Syed Kirmani and Farokh Engineer and Nayan Mongia are also featured in the list of notable Indian wicketkeepers.
