A stunning century on a dry Headingley track, that propelled India to 471 in the first innings, once again erupted the long-standing debate on “India’s greatest-ever Test wicketkeeper-batter.” Rishabh Pant, as claimed by former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar, placed himself well ahead in the battle, after his seventh career ton, and third on English soil, on the second day of the opening game in Leeds.
Manjrekar, speaking to JioHotstar, was full of praise for the box-office knock on Saturday from the India vice-captain, which ably supported skipper Shubman Gill’s ton in India putting on a big total in the opening innings of the series.
“By far, India’s greatest ever Test batter-keeper. I was worried when he was in the 90s that he might end up getting his 8th 90 of his career. It is just unbelievable that he has so many 90s! But he’s a breath of fresh air. When he got out and raised his bat, there were a lot of English supporters who stood up and applauded that innings. That’s what we love about England — these guys come to watch good cricket. They obviously want their team to win, but when they see excellence from the opposition, you can see true appreciation for it,” Manjrekar said.
However, the veteran batter did not end there. Later, he consolidated his opinion by dissecting the centuries that Pant and MS Dhoni scored in their Test careers. Manjrekar reckoned that while five of Pant’s seven centuries came in SENA nations, for the former India captain, he never scored a ton outside Asia, with his highest being a knock of 92 at The Oval in 2007.
“Again, I am a believer in where you got your hundreds, and I’m a big sort of, I always look at hundreds. OK, where have we got it? Pant’s got hundreds in England. He’s got 100 in South Africa. He’s got a couple of hundreds in Australia. So when you look at the MS’ hundreds, with all due respect to his fans, his centuries would not be so much in these countries where batting is a bit more challenging, as batting on an Indian pitch. In Test cricket, he’s already well ahead of MS,” he said.
Pant’s knock on Day 2 made him the most prolific wicketkeeper-batter for India. He now holds the record for most Test hundreds as a wicketkeeper for India, surpassing Dhoni’s tally of six.