Rishabh Pant had plan to attack Sunil Gavaskar? Wicketkeeper reveals his arsenal

Indian vice-captain and wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has not only lit up Headingley with his record-breaking century in the ongoing first Test but also with an eye-popping celebration that fans are calling one of the coolest ever seen in Test cricket.

As soon as Rishabh Pant smashed a towering six to get to his century, the Indian star stunned one and all by doing a front somersault on the field that perfectly matched his fearless playing style. He was on 99 when England's young off-spinner Shoaib Bashir floated one up.

Rishabh Pant stuns Headingley crowd with his flip celebration after explosive ton

Without a second thought, Pant danced down the pitch and launched it straight into the crowd. As the ball sailed over the ropes, the left-handed batter took off his helmet, dropped his bat and gloves to the ground, and then wowed the Headingley crowd with an athletic front flip.

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The Indian vice-captain’s celebration went crazily viral across the social media platforms. This celebration wasn’t just about fun; it was pure Pant, highlighting his boldness, swagger, and love for the game. His century was a part of a batting masterclass from India in the first innings.

Yashasvi Jaiswal (101), Shubman Gill (147), and Rishabh Pant (134) all made it count, as India posted 471 on the board in their first innings against England in the ongoing five-match Test series opener at Headingley. However, England fought back and managed 465 runs to give India only a 6-run lead.

Rishabh Pant opens up about his somersault celebration

After the end of Day 3’s play, Pant opened up about his viral somersault celebration. The Indian wicketkeeper-batter revealed that he had three celebrations in mind but went with the somersault that he has been doing since childhood.

Rishabh Pant told Cheteshwar Pujara in conversation on Sony Sports, “I had three celebrations in mind. One of them was ‘let the bat do the talking.’ Then I thought, I’ll stick with mine. I’ve been doing it since childhood (the somersault). I trained in gymnastics during school.”

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The Indian vice-captain further added, “In school, I did gymnastics. I’m very used to it. Even if you wake me up in the middle of the night, I can do a somersault. After the accident, I had to work even harder at it. But I put in the work, and now it’s easy for me again.”

India’s top order stumbles again as Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan fall early

Well, the Indian top order yet again faltered in the second innings, as Yashasvi Jaiswal fell for just 4 runs to Brydon Carse, while the debutant Sai Sudharsan had a forgetful debut, as he was dismissed for 30 runs off 48 balls by Ben Stokes at Headingley.

In the first innings, Sai was dismissed for a duck while Jaiswal had smashed a stunning century. By stumps on Day 3, India reached 90/2 in their second innings and now lead by 96 runs.

KL Rahul (47*) and Shubman Gill (6*) will resume play on Day 4, looking to stretch the lead even further to have any chance to get a winning start to the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in England.