India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant recalled his conversation with Rohit Sharma on the third anniversary of India’s memorable win against Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane in 2021. However, Team India registered a miraculous win by chasing 328 on the final day to script one of the most memorable wins in cricket history. Pant stepped up with the bat, scoring a scintillating 89* off 138 deliveries as well.
Speaking to Star Sports, Pant recalled, “I remember what Rohit Sharma said. A lot of people told me special things, but Rohit’s words, I remember it well. He was seeing my reaction. Everybody was happy, but he was not seeing me as excited as everyone else. He told me ‘I don’t think you realise what you have done’. I told him ‘yeah, we won a match, we won a series here for the 2nd time. He told me ‘when you quit cricket, you will understand the importance of this innings because you don’t know what you have done. Then I realised what I had done.”
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However, the win finished Australia’s 32-year unbeaten streak in Tests at the Gabba and also helped Team India win back-to-back Test series Down Under as well. Apart from the result, the series will be remembered for the way India bounced back. From being bowled out for 36 in the first Test in Adelaide to winning the series 2-1, with the absence of several key players – India scripted history.
“I didn’t know how to react. I was playing in the middle, I was conscious about not getting over-excited. Yes, there was a lot happiness around. It was a very important match for me because I was not playing ODI and T20I. Even in Tests, my place wasn’t certain,” Rishabh Pant concluded. “I was like ‘how can this happen?’. I have expectations from myself to do well, to win matches for the team. But I didn’t play the first match. It was like ‘dream-come-true’ to win the match for the team. I wanted that feeling. “I was telling myself this. That was my mindset, I had belief in myself at a time when not many believed in me.”
