India’s Test vice captain Rishabh Pant marked his seventh Test century with a signature somersault on Day 2 of the opening Test against England at Headingley. Pant brought up the three-figure mark in 146 balls with a towering six over deep mid-wicket off England spinner Shoaib Bashir. Without hesitation, the wicketkeeper batter removed his helmet, placed his bat and gloves on the turf, and launched into a somersault, drawing cheers from teammates and fans.
Pant resumed Day 2 on 65 not out and reached his hundred with aggressive stroke play. This century was his third against England and his first in Test cricket since returning to full fitness. Just weeks earlier, he had pulled off the same somersault celebration after smashing a 61-ball hundred for Lucknow Super Giants in their final league match of the IPL against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
The Headingley ton helped Pant overtake MS Dhoni in the list of most Test centuries by an Indian wicketkeeper. Dhoni had scored six hundreds in 90 Tests. Pant, now with seven centuries in 44 Tests, also became the joint-fourth wicketkeeper with the most Test hundreds in international cricket, alongside Kumar Sangakkara, AB de Villiers, Matt Prior, and BJ Watling. With this century, Pant also crossed the 3,000-run mark in Test cricket.
Earlier on Day 1, Pant began his innings with an early boundary off Ben Stokes. He then adopted a cautious approach during a testing spell before shifting gears. He brought up his half-century in 91 balls and went on to convert it into a memorable hundred — capped off with a celebration that is quickly becoming his trademark.
