Rishabh Pant became the first Indian keeper to hit win centuries in the same Test,
Rishabh Pant became the first Indian keeper to hit twin centuries in the same Test. He achieved the feat in the recent Leeds Test between England and India. His 134 and 118 went to waste as England defeated India by 5 wickets, easily chasing the 371-run target on day 5.
But a few months ago, the scene was very different. Pant had a rare poor performance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy match against Australia, scoring only 255 runs at an average of 28.33 in five Test matches. In the entire series, which India lost 1-3, the southpaw, who is renowned for his aggressive batting style, only managed 24 fours and 6 sixes.
After being criticized for his careless shots in both innings of the Melbourne Test, Rishabh Pant reportedly realized he needed to improve his methods, according to a Times of India story. Sunil Gavaskar, the former captain of India, criticized him for trying to play a falling ramp shot that led to his dismissal in the first innings. The latter's tirade of "dumb, dumb, dumb" went viral right away.
Then, in the ICC Men's Champions Trophy, Rishabh Pant supported the bench and did not participate in any of the eight-team competition's matches, which India won by defeating New Zealand in the championship match.
According to reports, Pant turned off his phone and uninstalled WhatsApp in March 2025. He didn't use his phone until he had to call someone.
After that, he had a terrible IPL 2025, scoring less than 300 runs despite hitting a century in the tournament's last round. But things have turned around since Pant returned to the whites, as the Indian vice-captain has made a spectacular start to the England series.
Soham Desai, the former strength and conditioning coach for India, disclosed that Pant subjected himself to a rigorous regimen in order to increase his level of fitness. He claimed that despite warming the bench during the ICC Men's Champions Trophy, the left-hander still put forth a lot of effort.
“He did the most intense sessions day in and day out. He dragged me into the gym whenever he was free. He didn't care about fatigue or a work-loaded programme. All he said was he needed to keep working on himself. On the day of the final, he came to me with some kind of guilt in his mind and asked if he could take the day off. I said it was high time that he did,” Desai told Times of India.
"Pant has so much reserve that he will be fine for at least a year without having to do anything extraordinary. That's why you see him moving around so well despite scoring two hundreds and keeping wickets for so long in the Headingley Test,” he added.
India and England will now square off in the second Test of the five-match series, beginning July 2 at Edgbaston, Birmingham.