Rishabh Pant has entered the record books as the first Indian cricketer to hit 100 sixes in Test cricket.

The star wicketkeeper-batter reached the milestone during Day 4 of the first Test between India and Sri Lanka at the Galle International Stadium on Tuesday.

Pant entered the match with 97 Test sixes and needed three more to reach the landmark. He hit one six in the first innings while scoring 39 off 62 balls, which also included four fours. The left-hander then struck two more maximums in the second innings to complete the feat.

Pant smashed Lahiru Kumara for a straight six that cleared the boundary in the first session. He then waited through the second session as Asitha Fernando tested him with bouncers and Keshara Nuwantha produced disciplined bowling.

The Indian batter responded with controlled strokeplay and found regular boundaries before hitting Kumara over deep fine leg for his 100th Test six. The shot also brought up his half-century from 53 balls.

Pant has now become the first Indian to hit 100 sixes in Test cricket and only the fourth player overall to achieve the feat.

Recently retired Ben Stokes leads the list with 138 sixes, while former England Test coach and New Zealand batter Brendon McCullum follows with 107.

Pant’s 100th six also put him level with former Australia wicketkeeper-batter Adam Gilchrist, who became the first player to reach 100 Test sixes and finished his career with exactly 100.

Pant displayed excellent shot selection throughout his innings. He regularly left the short deliveries that Lahiru Kumara and Asitha Fernando used to test him and avoided taking unnecessary risks.

The 28-year-old also handled Keshara Nuwantha’s off-spin intelligently. Rather than attacking the spinner with conventional big shots, Pant used the reverse sweep effectively and collected several boundaries.

Pant’s innings remained crucial for India as the visitors looked to set Sri Lanka a challenging target after losing Dhruv Jurel for seven runs early in the second session.

India carried a 294-run lead into the break at 116/4. KL Rahul and Devdutt Padikkal helped India steady the innings after Yashasvi Jaiswal fell to Fernando in the opening over of the second innings.

For Sri Lanka, Keshara Nuwantha, Prabath Jayasuriya and Asitha Fernando impressed with the ball. Fernando and Jayasuriya claimed two wickets each, while Nuwantha had taken one wicket at the time of writing.