Rishabh Pant reacts as he leaves the field after losing his wicket on day four of the first Test at Headingley, Leeds on June 23, 2025. Photo: AP
Rishabh Pant smashed his second hundred of the Leeds Test on Monday at Headingley. After scoring a brilliant 134 in the first innings, Pant delivered again when India needed him most in the second innings. With India struggling at 92 for 3, he forged a 195-run partnership with KL Rahul - who scored 137 - en route to his 118, studded with 15 fours and 3 sixes. His and Rahul’s significant hundreds propelled India to set a strong 371-run target for England.
With his second hundred in the Leeds Test, Pant became the first Indian to score a ton in both innings of a Test in England. By achieving the feat, he has joined an elite list of Indian cricketers, including Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar (who achieved the feat three times), Rahul Dravid (twice), Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, and Rohit Sharma.
Pant now has four hundreds in England, including his 114 at The Oval in 2018 and 146 at Edgbaston in 2022. These four centuries have seen him equal legendary batters Sachin Tendulkar and Dilip Vengsarkar’s record. Both of them have scored four centuries in England. Pant is now only behind Rahul Dravid, who hit six hundreds in England. With four more Tests to go on India’s tour of England, Pant will be very much in contention to surpass Dravid’s feat and become the Indian record-holder.
The southpaw’s two hundreds in the Leeds Test also made him only the second designated wicketkeeper-batter to score tons in both innings of a Test after Zimbabwe’s Andy Flower.
Pant’s match aggregate of 252 runs is also the highest by an Indian wicketkeeper in a Test, breaking Budhi Kunderan’s record of 230 against England in Chennai in 1964. Pant’s tally is also the fourth-highest match aggregate by any wicketkeeper in Test cricket, with only Flower ahead of him.
Pant also joined an elite list of visiting cricketers with five successive fifty-plus scores in England, placing him alongside Don Bradman, Hansie Cronje, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Kumar Sangakkara, and Daryl Mitchell. Only Steve Smith has more, with seven.
Four Indian batters - Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, and Pant - scored centuries at Headingley, which is a historic feat for India, as five centuries, including two by Pant, were scored.
