IND vs ENG: Pant’s Power-Show in England Breaks Dhoni’s Long-Held Record

Rishabh Pant’s spot in the Test team was under pressure, with many calling for Dhruv Jurel to replace him after a run of poor form. Ever since the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, he’s been in the spotlight his fearless and unorthodox batting style getting both praise and criticism, including that famous “Stupid, stupid, stupid” comment from Sunil Gavaskar in Australia.

Rishabh Pant shut down his critics in style with a brilliant century, proving once again why he’s built for the big moments. He brought up his seventh Test hundred and third in England in just 146 balls, packed with 10 fours and 4 sixes. With that knock, Pant also broke MS Dhoni’s long-standing record for the most Test centuries by an Indian wicketkeeper.

Pant went past MS Dhoni to hold the record for the most Test hundreds by an Indian wicketkeeper. Dhoni had scored six centuries in 90 matches, but Pant reached his seventh in just 44 games. With this, he also climbed to fourth place on the all-time list of wicketkeepers with the most Test tons. He now shares that spot with BJ Watling, Matt Prior, AB de Villiers and Kumar Sangakkara. It’s another big milestone in Pant’s growing legacy.

WHAT A KNOCK, WHAT A CELEBRATION! 💪💯

2018, 2021 & now 2025 - 𝙍𝙄𝙎𝙃𝘼𝘽𝙃-𝙋𝘼𝙉𝙏𝙄 continues on the English soil! 💪

👉 7th Test century
👉 4th vs ENG in Tests
👉 3rd in ENG in Tests#ENGvIND 1st Test, Day 2 | Streaming LIVE NOW on JioHotstar 👉 https://t.co/PLSZ49Mrj4… pic.twitter.com/MUySzy7Jr8

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) June 21, 2025

Key Partnership with Gill Turns the Game

Rishabh Pant showed great patience on a pitch that was good for batting, never rushing his shots. He played just a few of his trademark unorthodox strokes, like his first shot off Ben Stokes that flew between Stokes, Shubman Gill, and the umpire for a four. After that, Pant shifted to a more defensive approach, just like Sourav Ganguly had advised him to do in England. He stayed focused and played a steady, controlled innings.

Still, Pant couldn’t completely hold back his natural style. On Day 2, he reverse-scooped Shoaib Bashir for a four and later mixed in a few powerful hits to keep England’s bowlers under pressure. Alongside Shubman Gill, he put up a record 209-run partnership. Pant eventually fell after scoring 134 off 178 balls, smashing 12 fours and six sixes going past MS Dhoni’s tally of 78 sixes in Tests. Only Sehwag and Rohit have hit more. With this century, he now averages the highest among current Indian batters in England and has matched Sourav Ganguly’s record of three Test centuries there.

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