Rishabh Pant etched his name into cricketing folklore after slamming twin centuries in the first Test between India and England at Headingley in Leeds. Having scored a majestic 134 in the first innings, the left-hander continued his golden run by following it up with yet another century in the second innings on Monday.
Pant’s second hundred of the match was in stark contrast compared to his earlier knock. While his first-innings century was built on controlled aggression, his second ton displayed restraint in the first session before giving way to his signature attacking flair as the day 4 progressed.
With this, Pant has now become the first wicketkeeper in the history of Test cricket to score centuries in both innings of a Test match away from home. While several wicketkeepers have managed to score a hundred and a fifty in the same match on foreign soil, none before Pant had managed to notch up two centuries in both innings outside their home country.
The only other wicketkeeper to have scored two centuries in a single Test match is Zimbabwe’s Andy Flower, who accomplished the feat against South Africa in Harare in 2001. However, Flower’s performance came in home conditions, which makes Pant’s away-from-home double even more extraordinary.
More to follow…