Who can forget the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy? Against all odds, India managed to stun Australia and win the four-match series 2-1. The 2020-21 series is arguably one of the most memorable Test contests, and it is right up there with the 2005 Ashes when it comes to quality and the battle between bat and ball. An injury-stricken India, playing without their key players, managed to humble Australia and walk away with a historic series win. Quite famously, India ended Australia’s unbeaten run at the Gabba, Brisbane, to win the fourth and final Test.
Rishabh Pant played an unbeaten 89-run knock in the fourth and final innings to help India chase down 328 at the Gabba. The series win was all the more special as Virat Kohli had taken a paternity leave after the first Test and the likes of Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin were ruled out of the series at different stages due to their respective injuries.
Tim Paine, who was Australia’s captain during the 2020-21 series, has now remarked that several people think Rishabh Pant won them the series, but he thinks quite differently.
The 39-year-old said that, in his opinion, Cheteshwar Pujara won India the contest by grinding the Australian bowlers down.
“What I do remember, a lot of people talk about Rishabh Pant in the last series in Australia, but the guy who won them 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,” said Paine on the Grade Cricketer’s Podcast.
Pujara grinds it out in 2020-21 BGT
Cheteshwar Pujara might not have gotten many centuries during the 2020-21 BGT, but he was able to stay at the crease for a long haul, grinding the Australian bowlers down. Throughout the entire series, Pujara received several blows to his body, but not for once, did he give up, and he showed his stomach for a fight.
In the four-match series, Cheteshwar Pujara scored 271 runs in four matches, with his highest score being 77. On the other hand, Rishabh Pant returned with 274 runs.
The 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy started in the worst possible manner as India were bowled out for 36 in the second innings of the pink ball Test. However, India under the captaincy of Ajinkya Rahane staged a comeback in the Melbourne Test to level the series.
The Sydney Test ended in a draw after Ravichandran Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari fought it out in the final session. And what happened at Gabba, it’s no secret!
