Rishabh Pant was one of the heroes of India’s historic Test triumph against Australia Down Under. Pant played a fantastic knock of unbeaten 89 runs in the series decider at The Gabba to help India clinch the Test series 2-1. Before his match-winning effort in the Brisbane Test, Pant had played a cracking knock of 97 runs in the third Test in Sydney where he looked on a mission to get India home from an improbable situation.
Asked to chase down a target of 407 runs in their second essay at the Sydney Cricket Ground, India were 102/3 after 36 overs with both openers – Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and captain Ajinkya Rahane back to the hut. Pant then took the attack on the Australian bowlers and dispatched them to all parts of the ground to notch up a quickfire 97 off 118 balls laced with 12 fours and 3 sixes.
Pant was batting at ease despite struggling with an elbow injury. The left-hander had been hit on his elbow by a bouncer from Pat Cummins in the first innings and did not keep the wickets but revealed he took sedatives and pain-killer injections to bat in the second innings.
While his knock reignited hopes among millions of Indians back home, Pant revealed he himself felt he could have won the Sydney Test had he batted a little longer. Nonetheless, after his cracking 97 deflated the Australian bowling attack, R Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari’s blockathon earned India a hard-fought draw in Sydney.
“Even when I got out for 97 on the last day in Sydney, I thought I could have won the match had I batted longer. It didn’t matter that I had to take two injections and sedatives before batting. I was in a zone and didn’t want to throw away opportunities. So I ensured I was there at the end in Brisbane,” Pant was quoted as saying by Times of India.
Pant finished the Test series as the highest run-getter for Team India with 274 runs from 3 matches.
