Even as England pulled off a remarkable five-wicket win in the opening Test at Headingley, India’s Rishabh Pant walked away with a record that will go down in history. In a bittersweet moment, Pant became the first Indian wicketkeeper to score centuries in both innings of a Test match, an extraordinary feat that stood out in an otherwise forgettable outing for India. Pant posted on X after the loss:“It is going to sting us for a while but we BELIEVE in bouncing back stronger.” The message reflected both the pain and the resolve within the Indian camp after letting a golden opportunity slip away. Pant was India’s heartbeat with the bat throughout the match. After scoring a fluent 134 in the first innings, the southpaw returned on Day 4 under immense pressure and counterattacked his way to 118 in the second, bringing up his second century of the match in just 130 balls. With this, he entered an elite club of Indian batters—Gavaskar, Dravid, Kohli, among others who’ve notched tons in both innings of a Test. More impressively, Pant became only the second wicketkeeper in Test historyafter Zimbabwe’s Andy Flower in 2001—to achieve this feat.
His attacking style was once again on full display, particularly against young spinner Shoaib Bashir, whom Pant swept, reverse-swept, and charged at with unflinching intent. He also surpassed MS Dhoni to become the highest run-scoring Indian wicketkeeper in Tests on English soil.Quiz: Who’s that IPL player? India had posted 471 and 364, and set England a daunting target of 371. But Ben Duckett’s explosive 149, Root’s calm 53*, and a late flourish from Jamie Smith proved too much. Despite the heartbreak, Pant’s heroics gave India a fighting chance and reminded the world of his rising stature in the Test arena. Now with four Tests to go, India will look to bounce back, and if Pant’s words and form are any indication, they’ll do it with fire.
