An unbeatable innings of 119* made Rishabh Pant the hero of the season in the final league match of IPL 2025. Against RCB, he changed the entire momentum of the game by hitting 11 fours and 8 sixes in just 61 balls. However, this was not just a matter of one match; with this knock, Pant created a record in IPL history that no wicketkeeper batsman had achieved before.
For the first time, a non-opening wicketkeeper scored 2 centuries in the IPL
Rishabh Pant has become the first non-opener wicketkeeper batsman of the IPL who has made two centuries. He scored both these centuries while batting in the top-order at the no.3 position. So, in 2018, he scored 128* runs for the first time against SRH, and now in the 2025 IPL, he has achieved this position by scoring 119* runs against RCB.
The interesting thing here is that both the times he played for different franchises. The first century was for Delhi Capitals, and now it has come for Lucknow Super Giants.
How did Pant make it to the elite club?
There is a small club of non-opener specialist batsmen like AB de Villiers, Sanju Samson, and Suryakumar Yadav who have made multiple centuries in the IPL. And Pant’s name has been added to this list, the only difference is that Pant also does wicketkeeping, which makes this record even more rare.
Whole season was lifeless, and then in the end, Pant’s Blockbuster performance
Pant’s performance in IPL 2025 was overall average. He scored just 269 runs in 13 innings in the entire season, with only one fifty. His strike rate was also around 133.16, which was much less than both his 27 crore auction rate and standard.
But when the team’s last match came, and the hopes of playoffs were almost over, then Pant scored 119* runs against RCB and showed everyone that his match-winning instinct is still alive within him. This innings was like a personal comeback for him, and also a signal of a strong finish for the team.
Non-opener wicketkeepers who scored centuries in the IPL
This record is special because in IPL history very few wicketkeeper batsmen have scored centuries in the middle-order. Players like Wriddhiman Saha and Heinrich Klaasen are also included in this list, but their centuries have mostly come from either the top-order or opening slots.
| Player | Role | IPL Centuries |
| Rishabh Pant | Wicketkeeper, No.3 | 2 |
| Heinrich Klaasen | Wicketkeeper, No.4-5 | 1 |
| Wriddhiman Saha | Wicketkeeper, Opener | 1 |
Both of Pant’s centuries have come from the entire middle-order, which puts him at the top of this list.
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