Rishabh Pant has played many memorable innings in his Test career, but his 97 against Australia in Sydney during the 2020/21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy will remain one of his finest. India, battling to save the match at the SCG, benefited from Pant’s aggressive batting. Suddenly it seemed that the visiting team could win the match. However, the match ended in a draw due to the struggle of injured Hanuma Vihari and Ravichandran Ashwin. Ajinkya Rahane, who captained the team in Virat Kohli’s absence, has revealed that the left-handed wicketkeeper got angry with batsman Cheteshwar Pujara.
Pant and Pujara added 148 runs for the fourth wicket. Pant missed out on a century by three runs. He was dismissed by Nathan Lyon. The reason for his loss of concentration was his partner Cheteshwar Pujara at the other end. What Pujara had said, Pant told in Bando Mein Tha Dum, “Rishabh… Look for a while, try to stay afloat. You can work in singles or doubles also. You don’t need to hit boundaries. I got a little angry. They put me in double mind. I like to be clear in my plans. That’s what I want to do. We had created a great momentum. ,
Ajinkya Rahane spoke on this topic and told how Pant returned to the dressing room in anger. He felt that if he had been allowed to do what he was doing, he would have scored a century. He said, “Pujara from the other end was asking him to play slow. We can score runs later. An experienced player told him that you are on 97 and you are playing well, but now if you play a little smarter then you can make your 100. He was backing his game but unfortunately he got out.
Rahane, explaining his reaction after Pant got out, said, “When he came in he was disappointed and angry and he said Pujara bhai came and reminded me that I was on 97. I do not know too. Had he not said anything, I might have completed a hundred.” Team India won this series 2-1.