Rishabh Pant became just the second wicketkeeper in Test history to score twin hundreds in the same game, further establishing himself as one of the all-time greats.
Pant, who had a torrid few months, including in the Indian Premier League, came back to form with a fine hundred at Leeds. In the first innings, the left-hander brought up his seventh ton with a one-handed six, getting to the landmark in 146 deliveries. India scored 471, taking a slender six-run lead.
He repeated the feat in the second innings after walking out early on day four. Along with KL Rahul, who brought up his ninth hundred in the format, he stitched together 195 runs for the fourth wicket, taking India towards the 300-run mark. Pant, who faced only 10 balls in the nineties in the first innings, was more cautious this time around, facing 26 deliveries, finally getting to the hundred with a single.
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1st Test, England vs India
Rishabh Pant joins Andy Flower
He is now par with Andy Flower as the only other keeper with two hundreds in the same Test match. Flower had scored 142 and 199* against Zimbabwe in 2001, a record that he solely owned for nearly 24 years.
Pant was eventually dismissed for 118 in the second innings, ending with a match tally of 252 runs, the fourth-most by any wicketkeeper-batter in a Test match. Flower holds the top three records.
The 27-year-old also hit nine sixes in the Test match - six in the first, and three in the second - the most any wicketkeeper has smashed in a game. The record was previously held by Adam Gilchrist, who had hit eight against South Africa in 2002. Pant’s nine sixes is also a joint record in England among all batters, with Andrew Flintoff and Ben Stokes having also hit nine maximums in a Test match in the country.
Pant's last five scores in Test matches in England read: 50, 146, 57, 134 and 118. He had also made a ton in 2018, taking his tally to four in the country. It is the joint-most by a keeper in England, level with Matt Prior and Alec Stewart.
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