The Indian wicket-keeper batsman, Rishabh Pant played a match-winning knock of 89 runs off 138 balls, which helped the visitors to defeat Australia at the fortress at The Gabba in Brisbane. The three-wicket win also meant that the visiting team retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and won the four-match Test series.
During the post-match ceremony, an emotional Pant said, “This is one of the biggest moments of my life now, and I’m happy that all the support staff and all my teammates supported me even when I wasn’t playing”.
Pant, who has been criticized for his wicket-keeping abilities in international cricket, silenced his critics with a T20-like knock. The wicketkeeper-batsman credited India’s team management for always backing him.
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Describing his knock, Rishabh pant explained, “It’s been a dream series. The team management always backs me and tells me, you are a matchwinner and you have to go win the match for the team. I keep thinking every day that I want to win matches for India, and I did it today. It was a fifth-day pitch and the ball was turning a bit. I thought I have to be disciplined with my shot selection.”
India started slow on the final day of the Test, with opener Rohit Sharma losing his wicket cheaply in the early stages. With the departure of Rohit, the young, Shubman Gill smashed 91 runs off 146 balls to help his side stage a turnaround. Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara proved his mettle with a resilient knock of 56 from 211 balls. The likes of Ajinkya Rahane (24) and Washington Sundar (22) also made decent contributions to the scoreboard.
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For the hosts, Pat Cummins was the pick of the bowlers, registering four wickets. Meanwhile, Nathan Lyon took two wickets in his 100th Test match. With the win, India will be going into their upcoming four-match Test series against England on a positive note. The first Test match starts on February 5.
