ENG vs IND: Rishabh Pant’s love affair with English conditions continues through Headingley masterclass

Rishabh Pant struck his third Test ton against England in their backyard at Headingley, blending composure and aggression. His masterful knock lifted India to a strong position, reaffirming his remarkable love affair with English conditions.

Team India vice-captain Rishabh Pant’s mature, composed, and masterclass performance was on display in the opening Test of the five-match series against England at Headingley in Leeds.

Rishabh Pant assumed his batting in the opening day of the Headingley, where he was unbeaten on 65 off 102 balls and shared an unbroken 138-run partnership with Shubman Gill, who recorded his maiden century on Test captaincy debut. Walked in to bat at No.5 after Yashasvi Jaiswal’s dismissal at 221/1, Rishabh Pant played with caution, calculated aggression, and shifted gears seamlessly to frustrate England's bowling attack.

On Day 2 of the first Test, Pant carried on where he left off, completing his seventh century in his Test career with a counter-attacking approach that combined flair, maturity, and resilience to take the team past the 400-run mark in the first innings, firmly putting India in the driver’s seat.

Pant kicks off his campaign in style

In the ongoing Test series against England, Rishabh Pant kicked off his campaign in style with a commanding century at Headingley. The left-handed batter was composed and focused as he continued with his innings from where he left off on the opening day of the series opener.

Pant was batting on 99 when he faced spinner Shoaib Bashir and smashed him for a six to complete his century. The 27-year-old raised his bat and helmet to acknowledge the applause from the crowd as well as teammates in the dressing room. Rishabh Pant did a ‘somersault’ celebration, as he marked yet another milestone in his remarkable Test journey in England.

With his third century against England in England, Rishabh Pant extended his record for the most centuries by a wicketkeeper-batter against England in their backyard in the longest format of the game.

Pant is the only wicketkeeper-batter to score three centuries in Tests against England in England, as the likes of Adam Gilchrist, Brad Haddin, John Waite, Ian Healy, Jeff Dujon, Tom Blundell, Dinesh Ramdin, Dinesh Chandimal, Prasanna Jayawardene, Clyde Walcott, Moin Khan, Percy Sherwell, Ivan Barrow, and Amal Silva managed just one century each on English soil.

Rishabh Pant’s love for English conditions

Rishabh Pant’s brilliant century at Headingley is a continuation of his love affair with English conditions, having previously produced match-defining knocks at the Oval and Edgbaston in 2018 and 2022, respectively. The southpaw is currently on his third Test tour of England and has consistently delivered impactful performances in challenging conditions that would often trouble the visiting batters.

In his debut Test tour of England, Pant announced himself in style with a century, scoring 114 in the second innings of the fifth match at the Oval. His maiden century on English soil came after having poor outings in the first five innings, with scores reading 24, 1, 0, 18, and 5, raising questions about his adaptability to English conditions, but he silenced his critics with a century in the sixth innings.

It has to be noted that the 2018 Test series in England was Rishabh Pant’s first red-ball series for Team India, making his century at the Oval even more remarkable, and it came just in his third match - a strong statement from a young wicketkeeper-batter, who was still finding his feet in international cricket.

In the 2021/22 tour of England, Rishabh Pant was the second-highest run-getter for India with 349 runs, including a century and two fifties, at an average of 38.77 in 9 innings. His knock of 149 off 111 balls in Birmingham was one of the most aggressive and counter-attacking innings ever played by an Indian wicketkeeper-batter in overseas conditions. This was an improved showing compared to his debut Test tour in English conditions.

Rishabh Pant inches closer to breaking Dhoni’s record

Rishabh Pant’s stay at the crease ended by Josh Tongue, who dismissed him for 134 off 178 balls at 453/6. The southpaw had earlier extended his fourth-wicket partnership with Shubman Gill to 209 runs. Gill played a brilliant knock of 147 off 227 balls before falling to Shoaib Bashir at 430/4.

With his 134-run innings, Rishabh Pant’s Test tally against England in England has risen to 645 runs, including three centuries and two fifties, at an average of 40.31 from 16 innings. He is the second Indian wicketkeeper-batter after MS Dhoni and the sixth overall to score over 600 Test runs against England on English soil.

Rishabh Pant has inched closer to shattering MS Dhoni’s record for the most runs as a wicketkeeper-batter in Tests against England in England. Dhoni has aggregated 778 runs, including eight centuries, at an average of 37.04 in 12 matches.

With an innings left in the first Test and eight more innings to be played in the next four matches of the Test series, Pant has a golden opportunity to break his successor’s record and become the highest run-scoring wicketkeeper-batter in Test matches against England on English soil.