Rishabh Pant blasted a match-defining, unbeaten 89 and shared a partnership of 53 with Washington Sundar as India won a famous Test in Brisbane.
India was placed in a precarious situation at 265/5 on the final day of the fourth Test against Australia in Brisbane. Washington Sundar, who was making his debut, joined Rishabh Pant under pressure. Earlier in the Test, Washington Sundar had shared a partnership of 123 with Shardul Thakur as the duo smashed fifties to ensure Australia's lead would not be so great. The duo stitched a 53-run stand and Rishabh Pant hit the winning runs with a boundary to long-off of Josh Hazlewood as India created history by ending Australia's 32-year dominance at The Gabba. However, during the course of the partnership, there was apparently a tense argument between Rishabh Pant and Washington Sundar about the approach to the target.
Speaking to Times of India after his arrival back in India following his series-winning exploits, Rishabh Pant revealed that Washington Sundar wanted to play shots while the wicketkeeper told him to play the anchor role. After a tense argument, Rishabh Pant said that he will go for the shots and Washington Sundar would play the anchor role. Washington Sundar hit a six and a four off Pat Cummins to ease the pressure and although he fell to an audacious sweep shot with 10 runs needed, Rishabh Pant held his nerve and gave India one of their most famous wins.
Raina motivates Pant
In a chat with Cricbuzz, Suresh Raina, who retired from international cricket in August 2020 along with MS Dhoni, stated that Rishabh Pant had come to him for a chat in June. At that time, there were plenty of doubts over Rishabh Pant and his place in the Indian cricket team was under doubt. However, when Suresh Raina and Rishabh Pant chatted, it helped the young Delhi keeper immensely.
"He just wanted a break from it all, from the media and from everything. All he wanted me to do was listen. He wasn't looking for me to give anything, forget a solution. When we weren't at training, he would be home all day, playing with my kids, chatting with the wife. We watched a lot of comedies on Netflix, ate a lot of good food, whatever he felt like eating, and just chatted away," Suresh Raina said.
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