Sep 24, 2024 07:42 AM IST
India’s upcoming five-Test series in Australia is arguably the biggest among the remaining events in the calendar year
India have started their Test cricket season with a 280-run win in the first Test against Bangladesh in Chennai. The second and final match of the series will be played in Kanpur from September 27. This will be followed by a three-Test series at home against New Zealand before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy starts on November 22.
It means that the Australian team would be keeping an eye on how India are faring in their ongoing run of Test matches at home. Among the many focal points of the first Test was Rishabh Pant. The Indian wicketkeeper-batter was making a comeback to Test cricket, having not played any red-ball international cricket since December 2022 when his career was forced into a temporary freeze after he suffered a car crash.
Pant, who was the form batter for India for nearly two years before the crash, seemed to have simply picked up from where he left off. The 26-year-old scored his sixth Test century and thus equalled MS Dhoni’s record for most tons by an Indian wicketkeeper in Test cricket. Australia captain Pat Cummins likened Pant to Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh in his own side.
“I think those guys, you know that they are going to be aggressive, take the game on. Like Rishabh Pant might play a reverse slap and it is an incredible shot and that’s just part of who he is,” Cummins said on Star Sports.
Cummins said that keeping Pant quiet would be important for Australia as they chase their first Test series win against India since 2014/15. “He’s someone that has a big influence in a couple of series and we have go to try and keep him quiet,” he further added.
Pant’s incredible record in Australia
Pant was integral to India’s cause in their back-to-back series wins in Australia on their last two tours to the country. He has scored 624 runs in seven Tests that he played in Australia with one century and two half-centuries. Pant averages 62.40 in Australia and notably has a strike rate of 72.13.
He was the second-highest run scorer for India in their series win in 2018/19, which marked the first time an Asian team had beaten Australia in a Test series at their home. However, he is better remembered for his heroics in the 2020/21 series. Pant had gone into the tour with his place in the side on shaky grounds. He ended up being India’s highest run scorer, and his most notable knock was a stunning 89 not out off 138 balls in the last Test which led India to victory chasing 328 runs. It marked the first time in over three decades that a team had beaten Australia in a Test match at the Gabba.
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