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In his 30th World Test Championship match for India, which is currently underway at Optus Stadium in Perth, Pant became the third Indian batter to score more than 2000 runs in WTC.
Rishabh Pant becomes third Indian after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to score 2000 runs in WTC. (Picture Credit: AFP, AP)
IND vs AUS: Star Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant joined Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in an elite list on Friday (November 22). The 27-year-old stumper became third Indian after the two greats of the game to score 2000 runs for India in the World Test Championship (WTC). Pant, who remained out of action for more than a year due to multiple injuries he suffered in a road accident on December 30, 2022, has 2007 runs to his name in 30 matches.
Pant needed 3 runs to join the 2000-run club, and he achieved the feat by scoring three runs on the second ball of the 19th over of India’s first innings of the ongoing first Test at Optus Stadium in Perth.
Rohit, who is not playing in the first Test against Australia, holds the record for scoring most runs for India in the WTC. In 37 matches played so far, the 37-year-old right-handed batter has 2685 runs to his name.
Most runs for India in WTC
- Rohit Sharma – 2685
- Virat Kohli – 2432
- Rishabh Pant – 2007*
- Shubman Gill – 1800
- Cheteshwar Pujara – 1769
Virat, who led India to the WTC final in 2021, has amassed a total of 2432 runs in 42 WTC matches played so far.
The overall record of scoring most runs in WTC history is in the name of England batter Joe Root. The former England captain, who also sits at No. 1 position in the ICC Test batter’s ranking, has 5325 runs to his name in 61 matches played so far. He is the only batter in the world to score more than 5000 runs in the competition’s history.
Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith, who are playing in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, are second and third in the run-getters list, with 3904 and 3486 runs to their names in 46 matches each.
In the ongoing Test, Pant will have a chance to break MS Dhoni’s record of scoring most Test centuries by an Indian wicketkeeper-batter. During his playing days, Dhoni scored six triple-digit scores in 90 matches, and Pant in just 39 Tests has scored six centuries.
He came close to breaking Dhoni’s record in the second innings of the first Test against New Zealand but was unlucky to get out on 99 runs.
Pant, who made his red-ball comeback for India after more than 21 months in September 2024, scored a century in the first Test against Bangladesh, which was played at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai from September 19-22.