The England and India Test series began on June 20 with the visitors holding a firm grasp on the opening day of the contest. That game, on day 1, also produced a fine result for one of India's most loved talents.

Why? It concerned a milestone.

It's an important milestone for the cricket team of India. At the same time, it is a personal milestone for the pocket-dynamo Rishabh Pant, who has just become only the second wicketkeeper-batter from the Test firmament of Indian team to go past 3000 Test match runs.

There was the great Farokh Engineer, back in the day, who scored lots of runs according to the quantum of Test cricket played back in the day, but even the great gentleman keeper-batter couldn't touch 3000 Test run landmark.

Only two men, thus far, in the Indian side have scored over 3000 Test runs for the country and here they are:

MS Dhoni

A stalwart. A glowing legend. A die-hard lover of the game and someone whose passion for cricket didn't ever need loud decibels of expression.

Few people have played the game in such a charming and yet, detached manner as the great legend MS Dhoni, who took 144 innings, to be precise, to score 4876 Test match runs, which is an impressive tally.

Had Dhoni wanted, the legendary keeper-batter would have easily gone on to score more than 5,000 Test match runs, may have even touched close to 6,000 runs. But that wasn't the game.

He played the part of a determined batter-keeper and someone who upheld the dignity of the game by leading by an example. Even today, his phenomenal double century in Test cricket at Chepauk is fondly remembered and deservingly so!

Rishabh Pant

When he arrived in England for this ongoing mega Test series, there was a lot of talk as to how Pant would now be required to play the part of a senior in the team, even as he is just 27 years of age. However, the added onus on Pant on account of responsibility, something he is quite aware of, was due to the fact that no longer does the Indian cricket team have the services of Rohit Sharma and not even Virat Kohli.

Therefore, those who've played a few Test matches up to this point, even if theirs are still largely evolving careers, must step up and take charge.

This is exactly what Rishabh Pant has done up to this point. In scoring a wonderful unbeaten 65 off just 102 deliveries, Rishabh Pant not only supported his captain Shubman Gill at the other end, but completed his important personal milestone of crossing 3000 Test match runs.

In doing so, he has taken fewer innings than the great Indian legend MS Dhoni. From 144 innings, Mahi, as he is dotingly called, ended his career with 4800 plus runs.

Pant, unbothered by pressure as seen in Leed's on the opening day of the Test, was his own man and didn't feel troubled one bit against England's reverse swing.

May he continue to score lots of runs having already crossed this important milestone in just 76 Test innings.Dev Tyagi