The Border Gavaskar Trophy 2020/21 was historic in many ways but India’s wonderful comeback was the best part of the series. They were down to just 36 in the first Test in Adelaide and were missing their first-choice players who kept coming out in every game for various reasons.

That culminated in an epic showdown at The Gabba, where India did the unthinkable by beating Australia with a second- or third-string team. The hero was Rishabh Pant, the wicketkeeper-batsman, who played a magnificent knock in Brisbane and remained unbeaten to take India through.

However, Tim Paine, Australian captain in that match, felt that Cheteshwar Pujara won the series for India and not Pant. Speaking on The Grade Cricketer podcast, Paine said Pujara wore down his players by taking body blows, adding that there is still a place for this traditional cricket in the red-ball format.

“What I do remember is that a lot of people talk about Rishabh Pant in the last series in Australia, but the guy who won the series was Pujara. He exhausted us, he exhausted our fast bowlers. He continued to receive body blows, but continued to get up. There’s still room for that in Test cricket.”

Cheteshwar Pujara faced 928 balls on Australia tour

Cheteshwar Pujara will always be remembered for his resilience as he stood tall and continued to take body blows against Australia’s fearsome pace unit. 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 batsmen, and scored runs at a strike rate of 29.20, the lowest among batsmen with at least 100 runs in the series. During his marathon knock in Brisbane, Pujara took as many as 11 hits on his body, scoring 56 runs off 211 balls at a low strike rate of 26.54.

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His ability to weave big shots and show patience will continue to be a glaring absence this time around. While Shubman Gill is skilled and has done well in Australia in the past, Pujara had a better temperament, which helped him succeed in Australia.

Even in the 2018/19 series, Pujara finished 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 it is prudent not to take him to Australia, India will feel his absence at No. 3 in the impending Gavaskar Frontier Trophy.

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