Pant goes past Dhoni for most Test centuries by an Indian wicketkeeper, earns accolades
Leeds, Jun 21 (PTI): Rishabh Pant on Saturday went past MS Dhoni for the most centuries by an Indian wicketkeeper in Test cricket, bringing up his seventh on the second day of the series opener against England here, and earning praise from the legendary Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar.
Pant struck a six off the first ball of the 100th over of India’s first innings, clearing the fence off Shoaib Bashir to bring up the milestone.
It was his first century since September 2024 when he scored 109 against Bangladesh.
In 90 Tests, Dhoni had scored 4,876 runs with six tons and 33 fifties at an average of 38.09 and remains the highest run-scorer as an Indian wicketkeeper-batter in Tests.
Pant, who completed 3,000 runs during this innings of 134 off 178 balls (12x4; 6x6), also has 15 fifties in 44 Tests and averages nearly 44.
The third in this list is Wriddhiman Saha with two centuries, followed by Syed Kirmani and Farokh Engineer with two each.
Nayan Mongia has also scored one century.
Sachin hails Pant's 'clever' strategy
Pant’s effort earned accolades from Tendulkar, who lauded the wicketkeeper-batter's paddle sweep as a smart use of technique.
"Rishabh's falling paddle sweep is not accidental. It is intentional and extremely clever. Going down with the shot allows him to get under the ball and scoop it over leg slip with control," Tendulkar wrote on his social media handle.
Tendulkar also highlighted the psychological tactics deployed by Pant and Gill against Bashir during their 209-run fourth wicket stand.
"Also noticed something interesting during Bashir’s spell. Shubman and Rishabh were speaking loudly in Hindi between deliveries.
"It wasn’t just casual talk. They were playing mind games with the bowler, trying to disrupt his rhythm. These minor details may not appear on the scoreboard, but they can have a significant impact on the game," added Tendulkar.
Gavaskar's shift from 'stupid' to 'superb'
Saturday's knock also came as a moment of redemption for Pant, who had come under heavy criticism earlier this year during India’s Test series defeat in Australia, especially for his rash shot selections.
Back then, Gavaskar had slammed Pant’s shot selection with the stinging remark “stupid, stupid, stupid” echoing through the commentary box.
But at Headingley on Saturday, as Pant raised his bat and made the signature front-flip celebration after reaching the milestone, it was Gavaskar again -- this time exclaiming “superb, superb, superb!” on air, commentating alongside Harsha Bhogle.
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Centre spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print media ads for RSS centenary, reveals RTI
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture allegedly spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print advertisements marking the 100-year celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply.
The information was sought by RTI activist Ajay Basudev Bose, who filed an application seeking details on expenditure incurred by the ministry for advertisements commemorating the RSS centenary.
Bose shared a picture of the reply from the ministry on his official ‘X’ handle.
“It is informed that an amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS,” the government’s reply stated.
RTI reply shows Min of Culture Govt of India spent a Whopping Rs 76L,13K,129 on Advertisement in Print Media on occasion of 100 yrs of #RSS
— AJAY Basudev Bose (@AjayBos93388306) April 16, 2026
When Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??@RSSorg… pic.twitter.com/dW4IUtdNCg
Bose questioned the expenditure in the post X, “when Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??”
Reacting to the development, Karnataka’s IT-BT and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge also criticised the spending.
In a post on X, he asked why public money was being used for what he described as a “private ideological project.”
"Modi Sarkar spent Rs 76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS. Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to celebrate their centenary?," he added.
Why is public money being used to serve a private ideological project?
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) April 16, 2026
Modi Sarkar spent ₹76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS.
Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to… pic.twitter.com/EoZ6Pim3IM
According to reports, the RSS describes itself as a volunteer-based organisation and has stated that it functions as a body of individuals rather than a registered entity.
Founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in 1925, the organisation is marking its centenary year beginning from Vijaydashami in 2025, with the milestone observed on October 2.
