‘From Stupid to Superb’- Sunil Gavaskar praises Rishabh Pant after Leeds Test match

Rishabh Pant scored a brilliant century in the Leeds Test match.

India’s Test vice-captain Rishabh Pant scored a brilliant century off 140 balls on the second day of the first Test against England at Leeds on 21 June 2025. This is the seventh century of his Test career. Pant achieved this feat in his trademark style by hitting a one-handed six off off-spinner Shoaib Bashir. Along with him, captain Shubman Gill (147) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (101) also scored centuries, helping India score 471 runs in the first innings. Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar praised Pant’s innings.

From criticism to praise by Gavaskar

About six months ago, Gavaskar had strongly criticized Pant for playing an irresponsible shot in the Melbourne Test against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Calling Pant an “idiot”, he said, “There are two fielders standing there, yet you played that shot. After missing the previous shot, he got caught out at deep third man. This is throwing the wicket. It was important to understand the situation, given India’s situation.” But on Pant’s century in Leeds, Gavaskar said, “Fantastic, brilliant, brilliant! This young player batted brilliantly.”

Gill-Pant’s brilliant partnership

Pant shared a brilliant 209-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Shubman Gill, which put India in a strong position. Pant got a lifeline at 124 when Jamie Smith missed a stumping opportunity off Bashir’s ball. Pant played cautiously to reach his hundred with a six to surpass MS Dhoni to become the wicketkeeper-batsman with most Test centuries (7) for India.

Historical achievement

The centuries of Gill, Jaiswal and Pant created history in this Test. This is the fourth time that three Indian batsmen have scored centuries in a Test innings outside Asia. Earlier, Sunil Gavaskar, Srikkanth and Mohinder Amarnath in Sydney in 1986, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly in Headingley in 2002, and Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid and Mohammad Kaif in Gros Islet in 2006 had achieved this feat. Will Pant’s innings give India a lead in the series?