There wasn't much to judge Rishabh Pant's form ahead of the India-Bangladesh Test series except for two innings in the Duleep Trophy this month, a quick half-century and the other a low single-digit score. Many questioned if the wicketkeeper-batter, who last played a Test in December 2022 before a serious car accident, could get back to his best in this format where he had done so well. The 26-year-old, however, went on to clear many doubts with a smashing century, aggregating 109 runs against Bangladesh in the opening Test in Chennai on Saturday. Young batsman, Rishabh Pant stood in the middle of the pitch with eyes closed. He looked up, raised his bat, and seemed to offer a silent prayer, maybe thanking god for giving him life and cricket again. Then he hugged Shubman Gill, his partner for a strong partnership of 167 runs, India's second-highest for the fourth wicket in a Test match second innings. Also Read | Lasith Malinga Reacts to Kohli's 'Malinga Bana Hua Hai' Comment in IND vs BAN 1st Test With this century, Pant equaled the legendary MS Dhoni's record for the most centuries by an Indian wicketkeeper-batter—six. Pant achieved this milestone in just his 58th innings, while Dhoni took 144 innings to reach the same number. Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar, speaking to ESPNCricinfo, said he was not surprised at all that Pant has equaled Dhoni's century record. He explained that Pant bats at No. 5 in Tests, while Dhoni usually batted lower, at No. 7 or 8, during his career. "Dhoni had more impact in white-ball cricket. In Test cricket, there was more of his need down the order. Pant is more a batter-keeper in Tests. So I'm not surprised that this happened. It had to happen at some point. Not to forget, he has quite a few knocks of 90s as well. Had he converted those to centuries, he would have da about 12 of them probably. He is a different class of player and in terms of batting, he is probably the best wicketkeeper in Test history," Ajay Jadeja's Resonse to Dhoni vs Pant Debate Veteran cricketer Ajay Jadeja, speaking to JioCinema, agreed with Manjrekar's view that Pant and Dhoni shouldn't be compared. He explained that Dhoni wasn’t as important to the Indian team back then because the team had the Fab Four/Five, while Pant plays a bigger role in the current team. "There is no replacement for Pant. It is just unfortunate for Dhruv Jurel because he did everything in his potential. But Pant is a special player. See, we are comparing him to Dhoni in terms of numbers, but I will not do that. It's chalk and cheese. Yes, he has matched Dhoni's numbers, but this is different. I'm not saying he is better than him or not, but what he has, Dhoni probably never got that chance. When Dhoni came to Test cricket, the Indian team had four batting greats. So when they were around, they didn't need much of Dhoni. But the ability that Pant has, no one in world cricket has that. It is better you enjoy his knocks, than analyse it." Also Read | Watch: Ruturaj Gaikwad Takes Spectacular One-Handed Catch in Duleep Trophy