Rishabh Pant breaks this elite Test record of Alec Stewart
What's the story
Rishabh Pant has become the wicketkeeper-batter with the most runs in a bilateral Test series played in England. His achievement comes after he scored a half-century (54 runs) in the first innings of the ongoing fourth Test against England in Manchester. The feat was accomplished despite him nursing a foot injury that is expected to keep him out of action for six weeks.
Record broken
Highest runs by a wicketkeeper-batter in a Test series (England)
Pant's 54-run knock in the first innings took his tally to 479 runs in the ongoing series at 68.43. This is now the highest by any wicketkeeper-batter in a Test series played on English soil. The previous record was held by England's Alec Stewart, who scored 465 runs during the 1998 England-South Africa Test series. Meanwhile, Pant's tally includes two tons and three fifties.
New milestone
Pant also attains this milestone
Along with the overall record, Pant also broke the Indian record for most 50+ scores in a Test series by a wicketkeeper-batter. Former India captain MS Dhoni and Farokh Engineer had scored four 50+ scores in a series during their playing days. However, Pant has now gone past them with five such scores in this ongoing series against England.
WTC record
India's highest run-scorer in WTC history
Apart from breaking the records as a wicketkeeper-batter, Pant also became India's leading run-scorer in the World Test Championship (WTC). Playing his 37th WTC Test, Pant has raced to 2,731 runs at a sensational average of 43.34. This includes 22 50-plus scores, including six tons. The previous record was held by Rohit Sharma who scored 2,716 runs in 40 matches during his playing days.