Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant revealed that he had envisioned three different celebrations for his comeback Test century against England in Leeds, before ultimately opting for his trademark somersault. Pant lit up Saturday’s play at Headingley, bringing up his seventh Test hundred in his first match as the team’s vice-captain. Speaking to Cheteshwar Pujara ahead of the third day’s play, Pant explained that he had practised somersaults since his school days. The wicketkeeper-batter shared that, following his road accident in 2022, he had to put in considerable effort to regain the ability—but is now once again performing gymnastics with ease. “I had three celebrations in mind. One of them was ‘let the bat do the talking’. Then I thought, I’ll stick with mine. I’ve been doing it since childhood (the somersault). I trained in gymnastics during school,” Pant told Sony Sports. ENG vs IND, 1st Test Day 3 Updates “In school, I did gymnastics. I’m very used to it. Even if you wake me up in the middle of the night, I can do a somersault. After the accident, I had to work even harder at it. But I put in the work, and now it’s easy for me again,” he said. Pant executed the front flip after bringing up his century with a six off Shoaib Bashir. On 99, the England off-spinner floated one invitingly, and Pant needed no second invitation—he advanced down the track and launched Bashir into the stands, removing his helmet to mark the milestone. He then dropped his bat and gloves to the ground before delighting the Leeds crowd with a front flip. This was Pant’s second successive hundred in as many innings; he had performed a similar somersault after scoring a century in the final match of the Indian Premier League for Lucknow Super Giants. “When Bashir was bowling the previous over, I thought I should get to the hundred then and there. I didn’t want to play percentage cricket and take a risk—he bowled well, so I respected it and took a single. In the next over, when he came back, I told him, ‘If you keep the field close-in, I’ll go for the big shot.’ Luckily, I was on 99. I was confident, but I still wanted to play the ball on merit,” Pant said, reflecting on the moment he reached three figures. Pant demonstrated greater restraint than ever before, while retaining his trademark flamboyance. He struck six sixes and 12 boundaries, mixing caution with aggression. He played audacious scoops, danced down the track to fast bowlers, yet also showed the discipline to respect the bowler and match situation. India posted 471, despite a collapse in which their last seven wickets fell for just 42 runs. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, captain Shubman Gill, and vice-captain Pant all notched up hundreds. TRANSITION FROM IPL TO TESTS Pant shared that he had consciously worked on playing straighter and trimming certain shots from his repertoire as he transitioned from IPL to red-ball cricket. “In my mind, I wanted to cut down on a few shots (in preparation for Tests after the IPL). I wanted to play in the ‘V’. If you noticed, I haven’t played many shots at balls that were wide. I’m trying to play straight,” he explained. Prior to this knock, Pant had scored 255 runs in five Tests, crossing the fifty-run mark only once. He had been criticised for a few reckless shots at crucial junctures during the series. However, Pant appears to have put those struggles behind him, bouncing back in his inimitable style in the first Test of the England tour—shouldering responsibility with a young team in the post-Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma era. Published By: Akshay Ramesh Published On: Jun 22, 2025
