India's vice-captain Rishabh Pant bludgeoned a scintillating century on Day 2 of the first Test against England at Leeds on June 21. Pant then pulled off his signature celebration after bringing his century. After reaching the milestone, Pant performed a somersault, a celebration that has become synonymous with him. This wasn't the first instance of Pant celebrating in this manner, as he had previously performed the same acrobatic feat earlier in the year during the IPL when Lucknow Super Giants captain, KL Rahul, also celebrated a century against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in a similar style.
This is how Sunil Gavaskar reacted to Rishabh Pant's century
Against England at Leeds, Pant reached his century in 146 deliveries, hitting 10 boundaries and 4 sixes along the way. This century holds particular significance as it is Pant's third Test century on English soil.
Following Pant's exuberant celebration, legendary Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar came up with a cheeky reaction from the commentary box. "After that, you need to keep a stretcher and ambulance ready, just in case," Gavaskar was heard saying.
But that wasn't all from Gavaskar. Gavaskar's reaction to Pant's century in Leeds stood in stark contrast to his previous criticism of Pant. After Pant's dismissal during a match in Australia the previous year, Gavaskar had been quite critical, labeling the shot as "stupid, stupid, stupid." However, after Pant's century against England, Gavaskar's tone completely shifted, as he praised the innings with enthusiastic words like "superb, superb, superb."
Pant's remarkable century was not just a personal milestone but also a record-breaking feat. He now holds the distinction of having scored the most Test centuries by an Indian wicketkeeper, with this being his seventh Test ton. In doing so, he surpassed the former Indian captain MS Dhoni, who had previously held the record with six Test centuries as a wicketkeeper. Wriddhiman Saha occupies the third position in this list with three Test centuries.
Furthermore, Pant's seventh Test century places him alongside some of the legendary wicketkeeper-batsmen in the history of Test cricket. He has now equalled the record of AB de Villiers and Kumar Sangakkara, with all three having seven Test centuries to their names as wicketkeepers. This achievement puts them in joint fourth place overall for the most Test centuries by a wicketkeeper. Ahead of them are only Adam Gilchrist and Andy Flower, who both have twelve centuries, and Les Ames with eight. Pant is also tied with Matt Prior and BJ Watling at this position.
Pant's record-breaking spree didn't end with centuries. His innings, which included an impressive 12 fours and six sixes, allowed him to overtake MS Dhoni in another significant Test record. Pant now has the most sixes hit by an Indian player in Test cricket, with a total of 79 sixes, one more than Dhoni. Among all Indian batsmen in Test cricket, Pant currently holds the third position for most sixes, trailing behind Virender Sehwag, who leads with 91 sixes, and Rohit Sharma, who has 88.
Turning to the match situation, India resumed the second day's play at 359 for 3, with Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant at the crease, unbeaten on 127 and 65, respectively. The pair continued their strong partnership until Gill was dismissed for 147, just three runs short of his 150. Pant continued to bat aggressively but was eventually dismissed for 134. As of the lunch break on the second day, India had reached a score of 454 for 7, with Ravindra Jadeja still batting.