Sachin Tendulkar: Rishabh Pant played a brilliant century in the Leeds Test match.
Sachin Tendulkar: Indian Test vice-captain Rishabh Pant created history by scoring the seventh Test century of his career on the second day of the first Test against England at Leeds on 21 June 2025. With this century, he surpassed Mahendra Singh Dhoni (6 centuries) to become the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman with the most centuries in Test cricket. Pant achieved this feat by hitting a six in the 100th over off Shoaib Bashir. This was his first Test century after 109 against Bangladesh in September 2024.
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Sachin Tendulkar: 3000 runs and other records
Sachin Tendulkar: Pant also completed his 3000 Test runs during this innings. In 44 Tests, he has scored 7 centuries and 15 half-centuries at an average of around 44. Wriddhiman Saha, Syed Kirmani and Farooq Engineer (2-2 centuries) are third in the list of centuries by Indian wicketkeepers, while Nayan Mongia has a century to his name. Pant’s innings was highly praised by legendary batsmen Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar.
Sachin Tendulkar: Tendulkar’s praise and strategy revealed
Sachin Tendulkar praised Pant’s paddle sweep shot and called it a clever move. On his social media handle, Tendulkar wrote, “Pant did not play the paddle sweep suddenly. It was a deliberate and sensible shot, allowing him to get under the ball and scoop it with control over leg slip.” Tendulkar also praised the psychological strategy adopted by Pant and Shubman Gill against Bashir during their 209-run fourth wicket partnership. He said, “Pant and Gill were talking loudly in Hindi between balls during Bashir’s spell. It was not a normal conversation, but a mind game to break the bowler’s rhythm. These small things do not show on the scoreboard, but they have a big impact on the game.”
From Gavaskar’s criticism to praise
Sunil Gavaskar had strongly criticized Pant’s irresponsible shot selection during the Test series in Australia earlier this year. In the Melbourne Test, Gavaskar called Pant “stupid, stupid, stupid” in the commentary when he was caught out at deep third man. But on Pant’s century in Leeds and his trademark ‘front-flip’ celebration, Gavaskar said in commentary with Harsha Bhogle, “Fantastic, brilliant, brilliant!” Pant’s innings reflected his strong comeback.
Will Pant’s form lead India to victory?
Pant’s brilliant innings not only entered his name in the record books but also put India in a strong position in the first innings. Will Pant’s form and his partnership with Gill help India win this Test?
