Hyderabad: Former Australia captain Tim Paine, who led the Kangaroos in the last Border-Gavaskar Trophy down under, recalled that it was Cheteshwar Pujara whose resilience helped India secure an emphatic victory in the 2020-21 tour.
Stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane-led relatively young Indian side managed to beat Australia by 2-1 after they were bowled out for 36 in the second inning of the Adelaide Test and with several players missing due to injuries during the four-match affair. Pujara was the second-highest run scorer for India with 271 runs to his name from four matches at an average of 33.87 with three half-centuries to his name, which have come at a very crucial juncture of the match.
The India batter stood like a rock at the crease for his team, taking blows on his body every now and then just to stay on the crease as he faced a whopping 928 deliveries and batted at a strike rate of 29.20. Recalling Pujara’s heroics from India's historic win, Paine said that he doesn’t get his due credit. He also hailed the India batter for wearing the Australian bowlers down and taking blows on his body.
"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 a place for that in Test cricket," said Tim Paine on The Grade Cricketer Podcast.
Pujara, who hasn't played a Test match in the last couple of years, was also the leading run-getter during India's maiden series win in Australia in 2018-19 as he was adjudged Player of the series in India’s 2-1 victory. He had racked up 521 runs from seven innings at an average of 74.42 with three hundred and one fifty.
The right-hand batter has a magnificent record in Australia having scored 993 runs from 11 matches at an average of 47.28 with three hundreds and five fifties to his name. He was the one who kept taking fireballs on his body and frustrated Australian bowlers as faced 211 deliveries and scored 56, doing a phenomenal job of tiring out the Aussies on the final day of the famous fourth Test of the 2020-21 series at the Gabba. As a result, India managed to breach the Gabba fortress by chasing down the target of 329 and won the series 2-1.
