Rishabh Pant has added another milestone to his career by becoming the third Indian wicketkeeper to complete 150 catches in Test cricket. He reached this achievement during the third day of the first Test against England at Headingley, Leeds.
The record-setting catch came when Indian bowler Prasidh Krishna removed Ollie Pope, who edged the ball into Pant’s gloves. With this catch, Pant joined the elite company of MS Dhoni (256 catches) and Syed Kirmani (160 catches) as Indian keepers with 150+ catches in Test matches. Pant now has a total of 151 catches and 15 stumpings, taking his overall Test dismissals to 166 — making him the third most successful wicketkeeper for India.
England Fight Back After Early Wickets
England resumed Day 3 at 209/3, with Ollie Pope unbeaten on 100 and Harry Brook just beginning his innings. The batters started aggressively, with Brook hitting boundaries off Krishna, while Pope continued his fluent stroke play.
However, Pope’s innings ended at 106 when he edged a wide delivery from Krishna. The catch was safely held by Pant, marking the Indian keeper’s 150th in Tests. England was 225/4 at that point. Brook kept scoring quickly, and captain Ben Stokes supported from the other end. The pair added a 50-run partnership off 78 balls and took England to 250 runs in 59 overs.
Momentum Builds Despite Setbacks
When Mohammed Siraj dismissed Stokes for 20, India made progress as England dropped to 276/5. Jamie Smith joined Brook at the crease and had some early luck, surviving a leg-before review against Shardul Thakur.
With Brook hitting his 12th Test fifty in just 65 balls, including seven fours and one six, England scored 300 runs in 71 overs. Pant did drop a catch off Brook earlier, which allowed the batter to build a strong innings. Brook and Smith then completed a 50-run partnership, helping England to finish the session at 327/5, still trailing India by 144 runs.
