India’s vice-captain Rishabh Pant etched his name in the record books on Day 4 of the 1st Test against England at Headingley, becoming only the second wicketkeeper in the history of Test cricket to score centuries in both innings of a match. The only other player to achieve this feat was Zimbabwe’s Andy Flower, who hammered 142 and 199* against South Africa in Harare in 2001.
Pant, who had already struck a brilliant century in the first innings with a six to bring up the milestone, repeated the heroics in the second innings, this time playing a more mature hand. He reached his second hundred of the match with a single off Shoaib Bashir, marking a historic moment as the Leeds crowd roared in applause.
Earlier in the day, England skipper Ben Stokes handed the ball to part-timer Joe Root in a tactical move to tempt Pant into a false shot. It was Root’s first over of the innings, but the Indian vice-captain calmly negotiated it. In the following over, Pant played quietly against Bashir, holding the crowd in suspense, waiting for another towering six like in the first innings.
Root returned for a second over as England tried once again to lure Pant into a mistake. But Pant, now on 99, again played it safe, inching closer to the landmark with restraint and poise. Then came the moment: Bashir to Pant, 1 run – and he’ll get there! A soft nudge and a historic hundred.
This century was Pant’s eighth in Test cricket, and his fourth in England, reinforcing his stature as one of India’s greatest ever wicketkeeper-batters in the longest format. Notably, he surpassed MS Dhoni’s record of six Test centuries for India.
Most Test centuries by Indian wicketkeepers:
- Rishabh Pant – 7
- MS Dhoni – 6
- Wriddhiman Saha – 3
Most Test centuries by wicketkeepers (overall):
- Adam Gilchrist – 17
- Andy Flower – 12
- Les Ames – 8
- Rishabh Pant, AB de Villiers, Kumar Sangakkara, BJ Watling, Matt Prior – 7
Pant’s double hundred across two innings is not only a personal triumph but also a crucial pillar in India’s dominant performance in Leeds. As vice-captain, he led from the front, showing both aggression and maturity across both innings of this landmark Test.
