Rishabh Pant did everything right—almost. He walked out to bat in both innings of the Headingley Test, took on England’s bowlers with trademark flair, and walked off with a century each time. But in the end, India still lost.
And with that, Pant joined one of Test cricket’s most heartbreaking clubs—players who scored centuries in both innings of a Test but ended up on the losing side.
Heroic Numbers, Hollow Result
Pant’s performance at Headingley was nothing short of exceptional.
In the first innings, he smashed 134 off 178 balls, a knock filled with 12 boundaries and six mighty sixes. Then came the encore—118 off 140 deliveries in the second innings, with 15 fours and three sixes.
Two centuries. Back-to-back brilliance. And yet, no match-winning reward.
The List You Don’t Want to Be On
With this feat, Pant became only the fourth Indian ever—and the 12th player in history—to score twin tons in a Test that ended in defeat.
Here’s the full list of elite names in this unfortunate club:
- George Headley (v England, 1939)
- Vijay Hazare (v Australia, 1948)
- Clyde Walcott (v Australia, 1955)
- Sunil Gavaskar (v Pakistan, 1978)
- Andy Flower (v South Africa, 2001)
- Brian Lara (v Sri Lanka, 2001)
- Andrew Strauss (v India, 2008)
- Hashim Amla (v India, 2010)
- Virat Kohli (v Australia, 2014)
- Brendan Taylor (v Bangladesh, 2018)
- Rishabh Pant (v England, 2025)
It’s a list filled with cricketing royalty—legends who stood tall, even when their teams crumbled.
A Match That Slipped Away
India had set a challenging target of 371, and at one point, the match felt poised for a classic finish.
But England had other ideas. Ben Duckett’s 149 off 170 turned the tide, and contributions from Joe Root (53)* and Jamie Smith (44)* sealed a memorable five-wicket win for the hosts.
This run chase became the second-highest ever at Headingley, a ground where history loves to surprise us.
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