Cheteshwar Pujara talked about Rishabh Pant’s heroics with the bat during the Australia Test tour in 2020-21, especially in the drawn Test in Sydney and the amazing series-winning victory in Gabba, Brisbane.
Pant was called into the playing XI for the Melbourne Test after Virat Kohli left for India after the humiliating Adelaide Test defeat. However, Pant showed his worth with the bat in Sydney Test when India facing the daunting task of chasing 400 plus runs in the fourth innings found themselves 107/3.
Pant then unleashed a scathing attack on Australian bowlers, scoring 97 in 118 balls with 12 fours and 3 sixes, adding 148 runs with Cheteshwar Pujara for the fourth wicket. In the end, Pujara (77), Vihari (23* in 161 balls), and Ashwin (39* in 128 balls) hung around long enough to draw the match.
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Pujara talked about his advice to Pant when he entered the 90s in the SCG Test and said, he asked the left-hander to be more careful as he closed in on a century.
Speaking on the BBC’s Test Match Special, Cheteshwar Pujara said that Rishabh Pant displayed some unbelievable strokeplay during the Test.
“I honestly didn’t think that he would be able to score at such a pace and the flow that he was getting on that particular day. I didn’t have to say anything to him because, naturally, he was hitting the ball out of the park. The only time when I talked to him was when he was in the 90s. I told him that you have to be a little careful and that’s when he got out,” Pujara said.
Furthermore, Pujara talked about Rishabh Pant’s heroics in the fourth and series-deciding Gabba Test match in Brisbane.
India required 328 runs to win in the last innings and Rishabh Pant ensured that the team won the match and the series with an amazing 89* with 9 fours and 1 six to his name.
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“The last Test match at the Gabba. I truly believed that it was a good pitch. So we could at least draw the game. The way Shubman started playing after lunch gave us a lot of confidence. And I also got a lot of confidence off it.
I started playing a lot of shots in the second session. When Rishabh came in, we knew that he was in form. He knows his game, he knew that he can’t go for a draw, he had to go for a victory,” said Pujara.
With the result of a 3-wicket at the Gabba, India completed just their second series win Down Under and retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
