Rishabh Pant marks Test comeback with record-equalling ton

Rishabh Pant added a cherry on top of his fairytale comeback, smashing his sixth Test century to equal the record for the most hundreds by an Indian wicketkeeper in Test history.

Pant matched MS Dhoni's tally of six Test tons at Chepauk, combining with Shubman Gill with a 167-run partnership. While Dhoni's six tons have come in 144 innings, Pant has gotten there in just 58 innings.

Pant also has six other scores in the nineties in the longest format, pushing his average to nearly 45 in 34 Test matches.

This is Pant's second Test century at home, having made his first one against England in Ahmedabad in 2021. The wicketkeeper-batter has Test centuries in Europe, Africa, Australia and Asia.

Since his debut, Pant has the most tons by a wicketkeeper in the longest format of the game. Litton Das with three centuries comes a distant second.

In Pant's absence from cricket after his horrific accident in 2022, India tried four different wicketkeepers, with only Dhruv Jurel making a strong impression.

But such was the impact that Pant had in this format that he walked back into the playing XI and instantly justified the selection call to pick him over Jurel.

This latest hundred is also his first since returning to international cricket, with the last one coming more than two years ago.

With the tour Down Under looming later this year, Pant's strong statement knock will go a long way in reassuring India that they have the wicketkeeper conundrum sorted.

India are in a dominant position in the Chennai Test after centuries from Pant and Shubman Gill helped them set a target of 515 runs for Bangladesh. The visitors are four down for 158 at stumps on day three with first-innings centurion Ravichandran Ashwin picking three of the four wickets to fall.