Rishabh Pant leaves Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni behind; equals Virender Sehwag to script massive feat in Manchester

Rishabh Pant equals Virender Sehwag’s record for massive feat in Test cricket

Another feather was added to Indian batter Rishabh Pant's cap in Test cricket as he now shares the most sixes record for India. Pant achieved the milestone on Day 2 of the 4th Test match against England at Old Trafford in Manchester on Thursday.

Pant tied former opener Virender Sehwag's long-standing record with his second six of the game. Pant had fractured his toe but nevertheless came out to bat to loud cheers from the Old Trafford crowd.

Pant tied Sehwag with his 90th six in Test cricket during the second session on Day 2. Prior to this, Sehwag was the Indian player with the most sixes. During his 103-match career, the former Indian opener struck 90 sixes. Interestingly, the only other Indian player with more than 80 sixes in the format is former captain Rohit Sharma. With 74 sixes, Ravindra Jadeja is behind Pant among current players.

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With 78 sixes, former captain MS Dhoni is placed between Rohit and Jadeja in the elite list.

Despite having a fractured foot, Pant backed himself to bat on Day 2 at Old Trafford. After taking a hit from a Chris Woakes delivery on Day 1, the Indian batter had to retire injured on 37. After Shardul Thakur (41) was dismissed on Day 2 with India's score at 314/6, Pant walked in to bat.

Pant added 23 runs with Washington Sundar before the latter was dismissed. Anshul Kamboj came in but fell cheaply. Pant soon reached his fifty with a boundary off Ben Stokes, but his stay ended at 54 when he was dismissed by Jofra Archer.

Pant also set a new benchmark for Indian wicketkeepers in Test cricket, recording the most 50+ scores in a single series with five against England in 2025. He surpassed the previous record jointly held by Farokh Engineer (1972/73) and MS Dhoni, who had four such scores each in the 2008/09 Australia and 2014 England series.

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Pant leads the chart for the most Test runs by a wicketkeeper in a series in England, amassing 479* runs in the ongoing 2025 series against England. He has overtaken Alec Stewart’s 464 against South Africa in 1998. Jamie Smith (415*) and Jonny Bairstow (387) follow, making Pant’s feat even more impressive.

On Day 1, Pant had become the first wicketkeeper to score over 1000 Test runs in a single away country. Remarkably, the next highest tally was also his own—879 runs in Australia. India were bowled out for 358 runs in their first innings.