Nearly two years after being pulled from a flipped car engulfed in flames, Indian wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant delivered a typically aggressive century in his Test comeback and expressed his deep affection for the format.

What was supposed to be a surprise visit to his mother in December 2022 turned disastrous when the car Pant was driving struck a central divider, flipped over, and caught fire. He underwent multiple surgeries, questioning if he would ever play the game again before returning to competitive cricket in the Indian Premier League this year.

Now 26, he was part of the India squad that won the T20 World Cup in June, but doubts remained whether he could handle the demands of five-day cricket ahead of the two-Test series against Bangladesh. In his first Test since the horrific accident, Pant made 39 before erupting in the second innings, smashing 109 off 128 balls to match idol Mahendra Singh Dhoni's record of six Test hundreds by an Indian wicketkeeper.

After reaching the milestone on Saturday, Pant looked skywards and blew a kiss in a subdued celebration. "It was emotional because coming back I wanted to score in each and every match, which I couldn't do in the first innings," Pant said after India defeated Bangladesh by 280 runs in the series opener on Sunday. "But returning to Test cricket, where I belong most, is great."

"I enjoyed batting out there and just got a little bit emotional. But at the end of the day, just being on the field gives me more pleasure than doing anything else." Pant's knack for producing match-defining innings makes him invaluable, and it's no surprise he enjoys unconditional support from the team.

Before the match against Bangladesh, India head coach Gautam Gambhir made it clear that players like Dhruv Jurel, who impressed behind the wickets in the Test series against England, will have to wait their turn. India captain Rohit Sharma praised Pant's return to the long format.

"Look, he's been through some really tough times and the way he has managed himself through those tough times was superb to watch," Rohit said. "This is the format he loves the most. Look, for us, it was never about what is he going to do with the bat. We always knew what he had with the bat and with the gloves as well."

"It was just about getting him back in the game and giving him that game-time."