Leeds, June 24 (IANS) After India vice-captain Rishabh Pant became the first Indian wicketkeeper to score centuries in both innings of a Test match on Monday, former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar lauded the wicketkeeper-batter’s batting feats, saying by end of the five-match series Pant could surpass ex-skipper and coach Rahul Dravid in the list of most Test hundreds by Indians on English soil.

After slamming an outstanding 134 in the first innings, Pant continued his magnificent form as he notched up his eighth Test century in the second innings 118 off 140 on Day 4 of the ongoing first Test against England at Headingley.

Meanwhile, Pant became the seventh Indian to score centuries in both innings of a Test match, joining an elite list of players featuring Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar (three times), Rahul Dravid (twice), Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma.

Furthermore, the 27-year-old joined the list of Don Bradman, Hansie Cronje, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Kumar Sangakkara and Daryl Mitchell, among visiting batters with five consecutive 50-plus scores in England. The list is headed by Australian talisman Steven Smith (seven).

“When you look at all of Rishabh Pant’s achievements, the first instinct is to think of him purely as a batter – and understandably so. Because when you’re talking about batting exploits in England, scoring twin hundreds, the names he’s being compared with are legends like Dilip Vengsarkar, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, and Sunil Gavaskar.

“But here’s the remarkable part – he’s also a wicketkeeper. That’s what makes it almost unbelievable. I know someone like Kumar Sangakkara had a phenomenal batting record, but he wasn’t quite the keeper that Rishabh Pant is,” Manjrekar said on JioHotstar.

With his two centuries in Headingley Tests, Pant’s tally of Test tons in England reached four, just two shy of Dravid, and Manjrekar feels that with four Tests to go in the series, Pant could match or surpass the former skipper to become the Indian batter with the most Test hundreds in England.

“Pant is India’s first and last choice as a wicketkeeper in this Test side – and that says a lot. Now, if you look at the numbers – most hundreds by Indians in Tests in England – Rahul Dravid leads with six. And suddenly, you have Pant’s name in that same elite bracket. And there’s a nice little twist – there are two Rahul’s in this story.

“You’ve got KL Rahul, and you’ve got Rishabh Pant. Who knows, by the time this series is done, Pant could match or even surpass Rahul Dravid. There are still four Tests to go in this series – that’s potentially eight innings for Pant. And he’s already started in near-perfect fashion,” he added.

Pant, who was later dismissed for 118 off 140 balls in the second innings, along with KL Rahul, who was also impressive with the bat in the first innings, made it count with his ninth Test century, led India’s charge with the bat to put the tourists in a decent position with one day remaining in Leeds.

The duo added 195 runs for the fourth wicket, which is India’s highest-ever partnership for the fourth wicket during their second innings of a Test match in England. India were eventually dismissed for 364 in their second innings, setting a total of 371 for England to chase.

Speaking about Rahul’s contribution and technique, Manjrekar said, “The only critique of KL Rahul is consistency – a key yardstick for greatness. But purely on batting mechanism, he’s nearly flawless. Whether in Australia, South Africa, England, or New Zealand, his technique has no visible weakness.”

“That’s why he’s the ‘Senapati’ (general) of Indian cricket in SENA countries – with five Test hundreds, second only to Sunil Gavaskar among Asian openers. A remarkable feat, though he’d be the first to admit he wants more runs, more often,” he concluded.

–IANS

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