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Rishabh Pant becomes fastest batter to hit 100 Test sixes, breaks Gilchrists record
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Updated: Aug 18, 2026 01:29 PM IST Rishabh Pant became the first Indian and the fastest batter to hit 100 Test sixes. (CREIMAS)India wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant became the fastest batter ever to hit 100 sixes in Test cricket, achieving the feat during the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle on Tuesday. LIVE: IND vs SL 1st Test – Day 4Eight years to the day he made his Test debut against England in Nottinham, the 28-year-old Pant notched up his landmark 100th six with his third maximum against Sri Lanka on day four of the match. Pant had struck a six in the first innings during his 39-run knock. Pant launched the 14th ball of his second innings over long-off for a six off fast bowler Lahiru Kumara, signalling a ball change. He then reached the milestone with a hooked six over fine leg off Kumara to reach his fifty in 53 deliveries. Pant became only the fourth batter to register 100 sixes in the longest format after Adam Gilchrist, Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes. Stokes, who retired recently from international cricket, remains the highest six-hitter in the format with 138 maximums. Rishabh Pant stepped out and sent that one straight into the Galle skyline. 🚀 Watch #SLvIND, 1st Test | Day 4, LIVE NOW on Sony Sports Network TV channels & Sony LIV.#SonySportsNetwork #SonyLIV #BeautifulGameOfTestCricket pic.twitter.com/rqOJoGZChq — Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) August 18, 2026 Pant, however, became the quickest to reach the milestone in terms of deliveries faced. The Delhi batter reached the landmark in only 4918 deliveries, bettering Gilchrist, who was the first and the quickest to 100 Test sixes in 6578 deliveries. Stokes notched up his 100th Test six off 9042 balls, while McCullum took 9756. With 80 sixes, Pant is the second-highest six-hitter in the ICC World Test Championship, only second to Stokes(88). Virender Sehwag ranks second on the all-time charts for India with 90 sixes, followed by former captain, Rohit Sharma (88) and Ravindra Jadeja (82). Pant is India’s highest six-hitter in Australia (15) and England (28). He has struck 41 of his maximums at home from 16 Tests. Appearing in 51 matches, Pant has amassed over 3619 runs in his career at a near 44 average with eight centuries and 15 half-centuries. Story continues below this ad Fastest batter to hit 100 Test sixes (balls faced) 4918 – Rishabh Pant (India) 6578 – Adam Gilchrist (Australia) 9042 – Ben Stokes (England) 9756 – Brendon McCullum (New Zealand)
Dhruv Jurel celebrates after scoring his half century on Day 2 of India's first Test vs Sri Lanka. (BCCI/Creimas Photo)Ahead of the first Test of the two-match series against Sri Lanka, India had a selection puzzle to solve between the incumbent Dhruv Jurel and the returning Sarfaraz Khan for the middle-order position. The management decided to go with the former, and the right-hander, who had scores of 19, 2, 0 and 13 leading into Galle, responded by making 51 on Day 2, before he fell to Prabath Jayasuriya. Speaking after the day’s play, Jurel said he did not feel any pressure about his lack of runs coming into the game, and he looked at every chance as an opportunity to play for India.“Not at all. Because, to be honest, I am very grateful that I have the opportunity to represent India. Whenever I go in, I think this is an opportunity to do something for India. So, there is no pressure. That’s the only privilege that I play for,” Jurel told reporters on Sunday. Jurel also spoke about his mindset while going out to bat, saying that his goal was to play for the team and not for personal milestones. “Whenever I go in, I just think about what team we are going to be playing and what situation I am going to be in. Whenever I speak to the captain or head coach, they always tell me what to do and what the situation is, so I play accordingly. There is no personal milestone that I look for before batting. I just go there and try to contribute for the team, whatever the team needs,” he said. The 25-year-old also revealed what India planned to do when play resumed in the afternoon, admitting that the goal was to score as many runs as possible without being over-aggressive in their approach. “You can say that the plan was to make as many runs as possible. The plan was not that from ball one we are going bonkers. The plan was that we can make as many runs as possible by hitting on a sensible wicket. I, Rishabh bhai and whoever is batting down there can do that,” he added.Story continues below this ad With nine sessions left in the Test match, India will need to bowl Sri Lanka out twice on a surface that is turning but not viciously. Jurel admitted that India will have their task cut out for them to bowl Sri Lanka out twice. “I think we will have to put in a lot of long spells, like their bowlers are, and we will have to be consistent. There is no rocket science. We need to put balls in great areas, that’s all. We have to keep it simple, and we have to play with determination. If we want to win the match, we need to take those 20 wickets,” the wicketkeeper-batsman said.
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