West Indies cricketer Jermaine Blackwood was one of the many lucky viewers around the world who could witness the magic at Brisbane when the Indian team beat Australia in their 'fortress' - The Gabba. Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant played a mature yet aggressive innings to take this side over the line and received praise from one and all.
Blackwood followed the series and believed that the visiting team would win in Brisbane until Rishabh Pant was at the crease. After watching the youngster bat, he even believes that the two of them are pretty similar with the bat.
Blackwood told ESPNCricInfo, "I was following the series between India and Australia. During the fourth innings with an hour left, I was saying to myself that once Rishabh Pant is there, you're going to win."
"I think we have the same batting style. He looked to score and a player who puts bowlers under pressure. That's the same way I bat. I was just rooting for him because I know he was under a little bit of pressure. He is a very cool guy," he added.
The 29-year-old, has hit purple patch after a long hiatus for the West Indian Test team. Blackwood wasn't finding it easy to make it into the XI for as long as three years before getting fitter and more matured as a batsman. Since his comeback, he has been the highest run-getter for West Indies in the series against England and New Zealand with 211 and 216 runs respectively.
He said, "I think I have been out of the West Indies team for almost three years. On the sidelines, I did some work on my mental space. I trained twice a day and hit the gym every day. I put in a lot of hard work to be as fit as possible."
"I tried to come back as strong as possible. You can see the results. I am better at my shot selection, I am starting to understand my game very well, and I want to continue to do the same going forward," Blackwood added.
Jermaine Blackwood will now be seen representing West Indies yet again when they take on Bangladesh in two Tests from Wednesday, February 3.
(With inputs from ESPNCricInfo and ANI)
