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With the help of two centuries and two half-centuries, Rishabh Pant has amassed a total of 425 runs for India in the ongoing five-match Test series against England.
Rishabh Pant has scored 425 runs in three Tests played so far in the ongoing IND-ENG series. (Picture Credit: AFP)
Rishabh Pant is India’s first-choice wicketkeeper-batter in Test cricket, and in the ongoing five-match series between India and England, he has impressed with his performance with the bat. The 27-year-old left-handed batter who bats at No. 5 for India in Tests scored twin centuries (134 and 118) in the series opener played at Headingley in Leeds last month and then registered scores of 25, 65, 74, and 9 in the next four innings. With a total of 425 runs to his name in three matches, Pant is the second leading run getter in the 2025 edition of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
Pant, who is India’s Test vice-captain, would like to maintain his good form with the bat in the next two matches as well, which are set to be played at Old Trafford in Manchester from July 23 to 27 and The Oval from July 31 to August 4.
Pant is likely to recover from the finger injury that he suffered during Day 1’s play of the Lord’s Test last week and play in the Manchester Test next week. During the fourth India-England Test at Old Trafford, Pant will have a chance to break a 61-year-old record.
If he scores at least 101 runs in the Manchester Test, then he will break the record of scoring the most runs in a Test series by an Indian wicketkeeper-batter, which as of now is held by Budhi Kunderan.
During the 1964 India-England Test series, Budhi Kunderan played five matches for the Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi-led side and amassed a total of 525 runs in 10 innings.
Most runs in a Test series by Indian wicketkeeper-batter
| POSITION | PLAYER | OPPOSITION | VENUE | MATCHES | RUNS | AVERAGE | 100/50s | YEAR |
| 1. | Budhi Kunderan | England | India | 5 | 525 | 52.50 | 2/1 | 1964 |
| 2. | Rishabh Pant | England | England | 3 | 425 | 70.83 | 2/2 | 2025 |
| 3. | Farokh Engineer | England | India | 5 | 415 | 41.50 | 1/3 | 1972-73 |
| 4. | Rishabh Pant | Australia | Australia | 4 | 350 | 58.33 | 1/- | 2018-19 |
| =5. | Rishabh Pant | England | England | 5 | 349 | 38.77 | 1/2 | 2021-22 |
| =5. | MS Dhoni | England | England | 5 | 349 | 34.90 | -/4 | 2014 |
Kunderan is the only Indian stumper to amass a total of more than 500 runs in a Test series.
The overall record of scoring the most runs in a Test series by a designated wicketkeeper-batter is in the name of South Africa’s Denis Lindsay. During the 1966-67 Australia-South Africa Test series, he scored 606 runs in seven innings of five matches.
Most runs in a Test series by wicketkeeper-batter
| POSITION | PLAYER | TEAM | OPPOSITION | VENUE | MATCHES | RUNS | YEAR |
| 1. | Denis Lindsay | South Africa | Australia | South Africa | 5 | 606 | 1966-67 |
| 2. | Andy Flower | Zimbabwe | India | India | 2 | 540 | 2000 |
| 3. | Budhi Kunderan | India | England | India | 5 | 525 | 1964 |
| 4. | Brad Haddin | Australia | England | Australia | 5 | 493 | 2013-14 |
| 5. | Gerry Alexander | West Indies | Australia | Australia | 5 | 484 | 1960-61 |
Pant needs to score at least 182 runs to break that record.
In the 148-year-old history of Test cricket, only three wicketkeeper-batters—Lindsay, Andy Flower (Zimbabwe), and Kunderan—have managed to score more than 500 runs in a Test series.
Apart from Pant, England’s Jamie Smith will also have a chance to complete 500 runs in the ongoing series as wicketkeeper-batter. As of now, he has 415 runs to his credit in three matches.
Most runs in a Test series by England wicketkeeper-batter
| POSITION | PLAYER | OPPOSITION | VENUE | MATCHES | RUNS | AVERAGE | 100/50s | YEAR |
| 1. | Alec Stewart | South Africa | England | 5 | 465 | 51.66 | 1/1 | 1998 |
| 2. | Les Ames | West Indies | West Indies | 4 | 417 | 59.57 | 2/- | 1930 |
| 3. | Jamie Smith | India | England | 3 | 415 | 103.75 | 1/2 | 2025 |
| 4. | Jonny Bairstow | Sri Lanka | England | 3 | 387 | 129.00 | 2/- | 2016 |
| 5. | Alec Stewart | Australia | England | 6 | 378 | 31.50 | -/3 | 1993 |
The record of scoring the most runs in a Test series by an English wicketkeeper-batter is held by Alec Stewart. During the England-South Africa series in 1997, Stewart amassed a total of 465 runs.
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