Rishabh Pant kept India in the chase with an attacking fifty despite losing Cheteshwar Pujara in a dramatic final hour of the Brisbane Test.
Rishabh Pant showed his class and smashed a brilliant fifty as India needed less than 75 runs in a dramatic final hour of the Brisbane Test against Australia on Tuesday. Rishabh Pant and Cheteshwar Pujara had shared a brilliant partnership that got the target down to under 100 runs. However, when Australia took the second new ball, Pat Cummins dismissed Cheteshwar Pujara LBW. This was after Cheteshwar Pujara notched up his slowest fifty in his cricketing career off 196 balls. Rishabh Pant got to the landmark in tight fashion as he set off for a quick single to mid-off and Mitchell Starc missed with the throw at the bowler's end as Rishabh Pant reached his fifty in a gutsy way. This was the fourth fifty for Rishabh Pant in Tests following his two centuries in England and Australia.
Earlier, Rishabh Pant reached a special milestone on day 5 of the Brisbane Test against Australia as he went past 1000 runs in Tests. The young wicketkeeper came out to bat after Ajinkya Rahane was dismissed by Pat Cummins for a counter-attacking 24 off 22 balls as India were very much in the hunt for a win at the Gabba on Tuesday. Rishabh Pant reached the landmark when he pulled a short ball from Pat Cummins to the deep backward square leg for a couple. Cheteshwar Pujara, on the other hand, once again stonewalled the Australian bowlers as he neared fifty and almost came close to playing 200 balls in the fourth innings of the Test match. Rishabh Pant reached the landmark in just his 27th innings, making him the fastest wicketkeeper-batsman from India to reach the landmark, breaking the record set by MS Dhoni of 32 innings.
In the Sydney Test, Rishabh Pant almost helped India pull off an improbable win as he blasted 97 which included 12 fours and three sixes. However, with his dismissal on 97, Rishabh Pant missed out on a chance to score his second century against Australia and his 2nd at the historic Sydney Cricket Ground. During the first innings of the Brisbane Test, he was dismissed for 23 as he missed out on a chance for 12 consecutive 25+ scores for a player in Tests in Australia. However, in this series, Rishabh Pant has been proactive with the bat although his keeping has suffered blips, notably in the Sydney Test when he dropped Will Pucovski twice.
Cheteshwar Pujara continued to go slow as his fifty came off 196 balls and it was his slowest-ever fifty in Tests, breaking the previous record which he held in Sydney when he crawled to a fifty off 174 balls. Cheteshwar Pujara got to the landmark when he dabbed a short ball from part-time legspinner Marnus Labuschagne to the third man fence for a boundary. In fact, three out of Cheteshwar Pujara's slowest innings have come in this Test series as he continued to give Australia plenty of pain.
It was a hostile first session from Australia as they resorted to the bouncer barrage. Cheteshwar Pujara got hit by deliveries that reared of a length and then hit him on the glove, body and on helmet. Twice, the physio had to come out for the mandatory concussion test but he continued to bat on. Cheteshwar Pujara shared a 114-run stand with Shubman Gill as the youngster was unlucky to miss out on a deserving maiden century. Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane also strung a solid stand with the Indian cricket team skipper playing an aggressive knock but he too fell for 24 off 22 balls. However, the old firm of Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant continued to soldier on as Australia became desperate to take a wicket.
India on course
With just over four runs per over needed for India to create history, Australia's proud record at the Gabba is now under threat and it will take an extra-ordinary result to reverse this current situation. Australia has not lost a Test in Brisbane since 1988 and they are now staring at their last fortress being crumbled down.
India has not chased 300 in Tests in Australia although they came close to doing it in 2014 and 1977. In the 2014 Adelaide Test, Virat Kohli hit centuries in both innings but India still lost the match by 48 runs in pursuit of 364. In the 1977 Brisbane Test, India fell short by 16 runs as they could not chase down 341.
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