Rishabh Pant's latest audacious century for India lights up Headingley test

LEEDS, England (AP) — Rishabh Pant doesn't always embrace the easy hit.

One of cricket's mavericks, the India wicketkeeper loves the difficult, high-risk shot. Even in the most nerve-shredding moments, Pant considers options other than the conservative choice.

For eight years, his swashbuckling play and attitude has been engaging or enraging India fans.

Either way, he is unmissable.

Another one of those moments arrived on Saturday against England during the test series opener at Headingley.

For the 14th time in his test career, Pant batted into the 90s.

Seven times previously he'd fallen in the 90s, making him one of the worst batters on percentage to convert 90s into hundreds in test history.

Pant was mainly restrained on Friday to help India consolidate but he began Saturday on 65 and entertained. He made runs from ugly hacks and mistimed and unorthodox shots thanks to sublime wristwork and footwork.

He charged into the 90s with a falling-over ramp shot over fine leg to the boundary followed by a pulled six.

Sachin Tendulkar admired Pant's unconventional style, writing on X: “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.”

Pant inched to 99 and the common sense play to the hundred was a single, but he hoicked a six over cow corner.

As the Headingley crowd applauded, he celebrated his seventh hundred and third against England also in typical style, with a somersault in his pads, sans helmet.

India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak defended Pant.

“Rishabh Pant makes his own plans. He decides and he bats,” Kotak said. “This innings was different. Because he plays aggressive doesn't mean he can't play defense.”

Pant featured in a 209-run partnership with captain Shubman Gill and was finally out for 134. The four-hour, 178-ball knock included six sixes and a dozen boundaries.

For all the knocks on Pant's audacity — India great Sunil Gavaskar berated his soft dismissal from a failed scoop shot in December as “stupid, stupid, stupid” on a radio broadcast — his way has been effective.

Pant has the most test hundreds for an India keeper, leaving behind Mahendra Singh Dhoni on six. He's the only visiting wicketkeeper in England to score more than one test century.

He hit a six to complete a test hundred for a third time, all against England. For India, only Rohit Sharma (3) and Sachin Tendulkar (6) have raised centuries with a six as many times as Pant.

Gavaskar and Pant turned the “stupid, stupid, stupid” comment into a commercial. And on Saturday, when Pant got his century, Gavaskar acclaimed it on air by saying, “Superb, superb, superb.”

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

India's Rishabh Pant walks off the field after losing his wicket on day two of the first cricket test match between England and India at Headingley in Leeds, England, Saturday, June 21, 2025, (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)

India's Rishabh Pant bats on day two of the first cricket test match between England and India at Headingley in Leeds, England, Saturday, June 21, 2025, (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)

India's Rishabh Pant plays a shot on day two of the first cricket test match between England and India at Headingley in Leeds, England, Saturday, June 21, 2025, (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)

India's Rishabh Pant celebrates after scoring a century on day two of the first cricket test match between England and India at Headingley in Leeds, England, Saturday, June 21, 2025, (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)

India’s Rishabh Pant does a cartwheel to celebrate after scoring a century on day two of the first cricket test match between England and India at Headingley in Leeds, England, Saturday, June 21, 2025, (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)

Kelly Pannek was so determined to carve out a future in hockey while still at college, the forward made the conscious decision to sacrifice offense to focus on her shutdown skills.

The choice led to Pannek becoming a U.S. national team fixture as a three-time Olympian, beginning in 2018, and establish herself as one of women's hockey's best defensive forwards.

Some eight years later, Pannek discovered she hasn’t lost her scoring touch in closing her third PWHL season with Minnesota.

In a league featuring proven offensive stars in Hilary Knight and Marie-Philip Poulin, and teammates Taylor Heise and Kendall Coyne Schofield, Pannek topped them all as the two-time defending Walter Cup champion Frost open the playoffs at Montreal on Saturday.

Pannek led the PWHL with 16 goals and a league-record 33 points, and was one assist from completing what would have been rare hockey triple crown — for men or women.

“I think more than anything, it’s reassuring and confidence-building to know that I used to be someone who was often relied on to provide offense for teams, and I still am that player,” Pannek said by phone this week. “I just needed to kind of re-find it, I guess.”

Her 33 points in 30 games this year surpassed her total production in her first two seasons, when she combined for seven goals and 27 points in 54 games.

And the offensive output didn’t hinder Pannek’s defensive play.

She finished sixth in the PWHL with a plus-13 plus-minus rating. She also won 341 of 575 faceoffs for a 59.3% success rate, third among players with 200 or more attempts.

“I don’t want to say no, because I think she’s a great player,” Frost coach Ken Klee said when asked whether he expected this much production from Pannek.

“From the beginning of the year, she seemed different. Our very first coach’s meeting, we had her in the office, and she just seemed lighter, she seemed more energetic," Klee added. “I really think she just said, ‘Hey, I’m going to play free, and if it's time to play offense, I'm going to play offense.' She's just really taken a next step.”

There are several reasons behind Pannek flipping the offensive switch.

An offseason roster shake-up caused by Minnesota losing talent in the expansion process led to Pannek realizing she was going to have to contribute more offensively.

Another factor was Pannek growing in confidence while turning 30 in December.

In her early Team USA days, Pannek stuck to defense and shied away from opening up on offense in fear of making mistakes that could cost her ice time or even her roster spot.

In the PWHL, Pannek came to realize she had more job security and, with it, the leeway to make a mistake or two over a 30-game season, as opposed to the pressure that comes with competing in two-week international tournaments where miscues are magnified.

“There’s a lot of implications with points and stuff on the line, but you also accept that you’re going to make mistakes, and goals are going to go in and it’s not life or death,” Pannek said of PWHL play. “I’ll still be on the team if I have a bad game and if I have a great game. ... So I think a lot of it was a little bit of a mentality shift.”

She's had far more good games than bad, and called this season “invigorating.”

Former U.S. star Meghan Duggan is not surprised by Pannek’s development: “She always had it in her, but it just started to come out as of late.”

What stood out to Duggan was the maturity and reliability Pannek brought to the ice even as a 22-year-old.

“Kelly Pannek is a player I would choose 10 times out of 10 to go into the biggest game with right by my side, because I know what she’s going to bring: stability, predictability, high character,” said Duggan, now the New Jersey Devils' player development director. “Kelly to me is the type of player that you win championships with, and she's done that multiple times.”

Pannek was a two-way star during her four college seasons at Minnesota, where she won two national titles and finished with 72 goals and 186 points in 157 career games. At the Olympics, she won gold in 2018 and 2026, along with a silver in 2022.

“I’ve changed as a player over these last almost eight years, but also my role has changed,” Pannek said. “I pride myself on being someone who can do any role up and down the lineup.”

Today, her sole focus is on the upcoming playoffs.

“Whatever it takes," Pannek said. “If I have zero points the rest of the playoffs and we win — it’s all about the winning.”

AP women’s hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey

Minnesota Frost's Kelly Pannek (12) celebrates with teammates after her goal against the Vancouver Goldeneyes during the third period of a PWHL hockey game in Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)