His ability to weave big knocks and show patience will remain a glaring absence this time.
The Border Gavaskar Trophy 2020/21 was historic in numerous ways, but India’s marvellous comeback was the best part of the series. They were bundled on a mere 36 in the first Test at Adelaide and were short of their first-choice players who kept getting out with each game for several reasons.
That culminated in an epic showdown at The Gabba, where India did the unthinkable by beating Australia with a second or third-string side. The hero was Rishabh Pant, the wicketkeeper batter, who played a magnificent knock in Brisbane and remained unbeaten to take India through.
However, Tim Paine, Australian captain in that rubber, felt Cheteshwar Pujara won the series for India and not Pant. Speaking on The Grade Cricketer Podcast, Paine stated Pujara wore his bowlers down by taking blows to his body, adding there’s still a place for this traditional cricket in the red-ball format.
“What I do remember, a lot of people talk about Rishabh Pant in the last series in Australia, but the guy who won the series was Pujara. He wore us down, he wore our fast bowlers down. He kept getting hit on the body, but he kept getting up. There is still place for that in Test cricket.”
Cheteshwar Pujara will forever be remembered for his resilience, for he stood tall and kept taking blows to his body against the fearsome pace unit of Australia. He scored 271 runs, the second-most by an Indian, at an average of 33.88, including three fifties.
More importantly, he faced 928 balls, the most among all batters, and scored runs at a strike rate of 29.20, the lowest among batters with at least 100 runs in the series. During his marathon knock in Brisbane, Pujara took as many as 11 blows on his body, scoring 56 runs in 211 balls at a low strike rate of 26.54.
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His ability to weave big knocks and show patience will remain a glaring absence this time. While Shubman Gill is skilled and has done well in Australia in the past, Pujara had a better temperament, which helped him succeed Down Under.
Even in the 2018/19 series, Pujara ended as the leading run-scorer with 521 runs at an average of 74.43, including three centuries, and won the Player of the Series award. While not taking him to Australia is wise, India will feel his absence at No.3 in the impending Border Gavaskar Trophy.
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