# Pant surpasses Dhoni, tops away Test runs for India wicketkeeper 2026-08-24T07:40:07+00:00 | Sports | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets (3 source reports) Rishabh Pant has surpassed MS Dhoni to become India's highest run-scorer as a designated wicketkeeper in away or neutral Test matches. Pant crossed 2,501 runs during the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo, edging past Dhoni's previous mark of 2,496. His average of 41.68 is significantly better than Dhoni's 32.84. The milestone came a day after Pant suffered a blow to his left arm from a short delivery by Sri Lanka pacer Lahiru Kumara. He retired hurt on day one after scoring three runs but returned to bat on day two, scoring 63 before being dismissed by Keshara Nuwantha. During his innings, Pant also smashed a six that broke a solar panel on the roof of the SSC Stadium, covering an estimated 95 metres. Farokh Engineer (1,209), Syed Kirmani (1,109) and Kiran More (901) complete the top five list for India wicketkeepers in away or neutral Tests. ## Indian Opinion Analysis All three sources report the same core fact, Rishabh Pant surpassing MS Dhoni as India's highest run-scoring wicketkeeper in away or neutral Tests, and share near-identical coverage of his injury and return. The framing is uniformly neutral wire-reporting: Times of India leads with the record and provides a structured stats box, Times Now repeats the record but adds a loosely dramatic subhead ( ## Coverage Coverage: 3 sources, 2 neutral, 1 sensationalist - timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Straight factual report with stats box, no dramatisation or editorial slant. - timesnownews.com (neutral report) Repeats record flatly but adds exclamation mark and author byline flair. - timesnownews.com (2) (sensationalist) Leads with injury drama and roof-breaking six, downplaying the record. This story was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources. Last updated 2026-08-24T08:19:03+00:00. Tags: India cricket team, MS Dhoni, Rishabh Pant, Sri Lanka Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/pant-surpasses-dhoni-as-indias-top-wicketkeeper-in-away-tests/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/pant-surpasses-dhoni-as-indias-top-wicketkeeper-in-away-tests/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/