Rishabh Pant surpassed MS Dhoni on Saturday to record the most centuries by an Indian wicketkeeper in Test cricket. Pant, who is also the vice-captain of the team, scored his seventh century on the second day of the series opener against England at Headingley on Saturday. Cricketing greats Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar have lauded his achievement.

Pant reached the landmark by hitting a six off the first ball of the 100th over of India’s innings. This was his first century since September 2024. While Dhoni had scored 4,876 runs in 90 Tests with six centuries and 33 fifties at an average of 38.09, Pant has 3,000 Test runs to his credit in 44 Tests, including 15 fifties, at an average of nearly 44.

Former wicketkeepers Wriddhiman Saha, Syed Kirmani and Farokh Engineer have two centuries each to their credit and Nayan Mongia one.

Complimenting Pant, Tendulkar praised the wicketkeeper-batsman’s paddle sweep as a smart use of technique. “Rishabh’s falling paddle sweep is not accidental. It is intentional and extremely clever. Going down with the shot allows him to get under the ball and scoop it over leg slip with control,” Tendulkar wrote on his social media handle.

Gavaskar, on the other hand, exclaimed “superb, superb, superb!” from the commentary box as soon as Pant completed his century.