The boundary scored by the Indian wicket-keeper batsman, Rishabh Pant’s boundary of the last ball of Josh Hazlewood’s over helped India to register a win in the Gabba Test. Pant (89 n.o.) walked off as the champion player for India, for the first time in the history of Test cricket, was able to breach the Gabbatoire. The Brisbane Test win will forever be remembered as that match that a young Rishabh Pant won for the Indian team will his unparalleled grit and imagination.
According to Rishabh Pant, the preparation for it was a process that involved a lot of time and ‘more than 100 percent’ of the effort.
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During a chat on Sports Today, Pant said, “Had a lot of time to get my preparation done [for the Test series] since I wasn’t even a part of the ODIs and T20Is. So I got a lot of time to spend to improve myself mentally and physically. I worked on my skills and fitness over the time I got. I always try give my 100 percent in every game but this time I realized that even 100 percent won’t be enough, I have to put in more effort.”
Pant further explained, “So I tried giving my 200 percent into the preparations, I used to get exhausted after training every day but my mind was set on ‘how do I improve my game from here?’ How do I improve my fitness, my keeping skills, my batting? All I had in mind that I had to work on improving all aspects of my game and win games for India. Even though I wasn’t playing for the team then but it was all a part of a process that winning games for India were all I wanted.”
Right ahead of the Test series, which commenced on December 17, Rishabh Pant played an unbeaten knock of 103 in the 2nd practice match against Australia A. That knock, according to Pant, was the one that gave him confidence ahead of the Test series.
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Pant elaborated “Since my preparations were going on well, I was in a good zone. I wasn’t a part of the 1st practice match. When I played the 2nd practice game, I scored a hundred. So I gathered some confidence from that knock, because that was my first match on the tour and I got a hundred. I was in a very good zone mentally. I felt this will help me, and that being in that zone helped us win the series, I believe.”