Rishabh Pant’s Overseas Test Centuries Hide an Unwanted Pattern That Continued at Headingley vs England

Rishabh Pant was at his fantastic best again during the first Test against England at Headingley, showing why he is the best wicketkeeper-batter of India. He scored twin centuries, becoming the first Indian and second overall wicketkeeper batter to achieve this feat.

However, there’s an unfortunate pattern in his overseas centuries, which is obviously not because of him, but the team has never won whenever he has scored 100+ runs in away Tests. As of now, Pant has six centuries away from home in five matches, and India have lost four of them.

This includes centuries at The Oval in 2018, where he scored 114 in the second innings, 100* in Cape Town in 2022, 146 in Birmingham in 2022, and 134 & 118 in Leeds in 2025. His other hundred came in Sydney in 2019, which ended in a draw.

ALSO READ:

• Ravindra Jadeja Lambasted By Sanjay Manjrekar After Ordinary Showing on Day 5 of ENG vs IND Headingley Test
• Will India Play the Same Pace Attack in the 2nd ENG vs IND Test in Birmingham? Gautam Gambhir Gives a Hint
• Is Jasprit Bumrah Injured? Why Didn’t India Bowl Ace Pacer In The Final Few Overs of ENG vs IND Test At Headingley?

That means India have still to win a Test overseas when Pant scores a century, but that is because most of his tons have come in precarious situations, where he was the lone fighter. And when others supported him, bowlers didn’t step up and conceded the match by bowling poorly, as was the case in Headingley.

Rishabh Pant provides massive relief with a return to form

Rishabh Pant’s form was vital for India on this daunting tour, since they were without Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. This batting unit is slightly inexperienced, so Pant’s role was always going to be big.

He didn’t disappoint and hit twin centuries to remove doubts around his form, given Pant was horribly out of form in the last few months. He didn’t have a great Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where his weaknesses against deliveries angled across him were exposed.

Then, Pant couldn’t make the most of IPL 2025, where he looked under pressure as a batter and captain throughout the season. He regained some form with a marvellous ton against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the final league stage game.

Since then, he has scored a century in every innings he has played and must continue scoring in the coming matches. Pant might have an unwanted record, but that doesn’t change the fact that he has been India’s best batter in overseas conditions since his Test debut.

For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, and YouTube.