5 major records held by Rishabh Pant in Test cricket

Team India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant was outstanding in the first Test against England at Headingley in Leeds. Even as the visitors ended up going down in the contest by five wickets, Pant hammered hundreds in both innings of the Test match.

Sent into bat by England, Team India posted 471 in their first innings. Pant was among the three batters who scored centuries. While opener Yashasvi Jaiswal made 101 and skipper Shubman Gill 147, the keeper-batter scored 134 off 178 balls. In the second innings, Pant and KL Rahul hit tons. While Rahul scored a defiant 137 off 247 balls, Pant slammed 118 off 140 deliveries.

The Indian stumper has an impressive record in the Test format. After 44 matches, he has scored 3,200 runs at an average of 44.44, with the aid of eight hundreds and 15 half-centuries. In this feature, we look at five impressive records held by Pant in the Test format.

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#1 Pant is the first Indian keeper-batter to hit hundreds in both innings of a Test match

By scoring 134 & 118 in Leeds, Pant became the first Indian wicketkeeper-batter to notch up hundreds in both innings of a Test match. In the history of Test cricket, only one other keeper-batter has hit tons in both innings of a Test match. Former Zimbabwe captain Andy Flower scored 142 & 199* against South Africa in Harare back in 2001.

Among Indians, Pant is the seventh cricketer to hit hundreds in both innings of a Test. Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar (3 times), Rahul Dravid (2 times), Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma achieved the feat before him.

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#2 Most Test hundreds by an Indian wicketkeeper

Pant also holds the record for most hundreds by an Indian wicketkeeper-batter. He has eight hundreds in 44 matches. Of his eight Test tons, four have come in England, two in India, one in Australia and one in South Africa.

Former India captain MS Dhoni is second on the list, with six hundreds from 90 Test matches. Wriddhiman Saha scored three hundreds in 39 matches, while Farokh Engineer and Syed Kirmani hit two each from 46 and 88 Tests respectively.

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#3 Most catches in a Test match (joint record)

Pant jointly holds the record for most catches taken by a wicketkeeper in a Test match. He took 11 catches against Australia in Adelaide in December 2018. He took six catches in the first innings and five in the second.

England's Jack Russell and South Africa's AB de Villiers are the only two other keeper-batters to have taken 11 catches in a Test match. Russell achieved the feat against South Africa in Johannesburg in November 1995, while De Villiers took 11 catches against Pakistan in Johannesburg in February 2013.

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#4 Fastest 50 by an Indian in Test cricket

Considering his whirlwind batting style, it is hardly a surprise that Pant also holds the record for the fastest half-century by an Indian in Test cricket. The left-handed batter slammed a 28-ball fifty against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru in March 2022.

The 27-year-old also occupies the second position on the list, having slammed a 29-ball half-century against Australia in the Sydney Test in January this year. Kapil Dev is third on the list. He hammered a fifty off 30 balls against arch-rivals Pakistan in Karachi in December 1982.

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#5 Highest individual score by an Indian wicketkeeper in an overseas Test

Pant also holds the record for the highest individual score by an Indian keeper-batter in an overseas Test. He slammed an unbeaten 159 off 189 balls against Australia in Sydney in January 2019, an innings which featured 15 fours and a six.

Dhoni is second on the list. He scored 148 off just 153 balls against Pakistan in Faisalabad in January 2006, a knock which featured 19 fours and four sixes. Vijay Manjrekar, KL Rahul, Ajay Ratra and Wriddhiman Saha are the only other Indian keeper-batters to score hundreds in overseas Test matches.