Rishabh Pant Breaks MS Dhoni's SENA Record In Style

Rishabh Pant brought Headingley alive with a trademark explosive innings on Day 1 of the first Test against England.

Rishabh Pant brought Headingley alive with a trademark explosive innings on Day 1 of the first Test against England.

Batting at No. 5, the Indian wicketkeeper took on the English bowlers with ease and confidence. Along the way, Pant also etched his name into the record books, surpassing MS Dhoni in a significant milestone.

Pant announced his arrival at the crease in style, smashing a boundary off Ben Stokes almost immediately. He raced to a quickfire half-century and remained unbeaten on 65 off 102 balls at the end of play, decorated with six fours and two towering sixes.

His aggressive approach perfectly complemented captain Shubman Gill, as the duo stitched together an unbeaten 138-run stand for the fourth wicket.

With this innings, Pant became the fastest Asian wicketkeeper to reach 3,000 runs in Test cricket, achieving the landmark in just 76 innings. The milestone is a testament to his growing stature as one of India’s most impactful Test players.

Pant also overtook former captain MS Dhoni to become India’s highest run-scorer as a wicketkeeper-batsman in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia) countries. Dhoni had scored 1,731 runs in these regions — a record Pant has now surpassed.

India’s top order set the tone early. Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul put up a 91-run stand before Rahul fell for 42. Jaiswal carried on to score a fluent 101. Sai Sudharsan, making his debut, was dismissed for a duck, but Jaiswal and Gill added 129 for the third wicket. After Jaiswal’s dismissal, Gill (127*) and Pant (65*) ensured India ended the day at a commanding 359/3.