Pant stepped up to take India home in the company of the tail, scoring an unbeaten 89 and finishing the match and the series with a glorious drive to long-off
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After their historic victory in 2017/18, India landed in Australia in late 2020 with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. However, that series victory came against an Australian squad that was missing its two most important batting players, Steve Smith and David Warner. The 2020/21 season was all about establishing that they could beat Australia no matter who was available. As it turned out, it wasn’t only about who Australia had available, but also about who India wouldn’t have as the series progressed. They lost speed veteran Ishant Sharma before the first ball was bowled, while opening batsman Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the first two matches. They would also be without captain Virat Kohli for the remaining three Tests, as the skipper would be heading home for the birth of his child.
The first day-night Test between the two teams at Adelaide Oval would have been the most memorable encounter in most other series. Having elected to bat first, India appeared to be on track for a large first-inning total, having marched to 188/3, with captain Virat Kohli on 74. Instead, they were bowled out for 244 on day two, losing seven wickets for 56 runs after Kohli was run out in a mix-up with Ajinkya Rahane. With a 60-run advantage on day three, the Indians were expecting to spend the following day and a half setting a large target before putting Australia out to bat against a fresh ball under lights.
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The Australians easily defeated the opposition after setting a target of 93, winning by eight wickets. Rahane anchored India’s first innings with a magnificent 112 off 223 in a total of 326 in the 2nd Test; debutants Shubman Gill (45) and Ravindra Jadeja (57) also performed admirably. Rahane’s performance was of such high calibre that Australian legend Shane Warne praised it. Another strong effort from the assault after that led to a straightforward Indians chase of 70, which quickly tied the series at one game each. Umesh Yadav’s injury, which would terminate the series, was the price of the triumph. Consequently, India was left without the services of three frontline quicks when Shami broke his arm at Adelai and Ishant Sharma hurt himself during the IPL.
Mohammed Siraj, the senior member of the Indian attack, was playing his third Test after making his debut at the MCG. Navdeep Saini, who made his SCG debut in the previous game, was the second most experienced player. Shardul Thakur was also playing his second Test, but he could as well have been making his debut after injuring himself just 10 balls into his maiden match in 2018. Washington Sundar and T Natarajan made their debuts alongside them. The Indians were 186/6 in their first innings response to Australia’s total of 369, only for rookie Sundar – chosen for his off-spin – and second-matcher Thakur to both score half-centuries to drag them to 336 and keep them in the match. After a five-wicket haul by Mohammed Siraj and four wickets from Thakur, Australia was bowled out for 294 and India was chasing 328 to win on day five.
Their aspirations were dashed when Rohit Sharma was out for seven runs, but with Gill (91) attacking from one end and Pujara (56) protecting from the other, all four outcomes were still possible. India needed 145 runs to win the series going into the final session, while Australia needed seven more wickets. The introduction of the second new ball provided immediate dividends for Australia, as Cummins dismissed Pujara and then Mayank Agarwal six overs later. However, with Pant in, the runs came thick and fast. Pant stepped up to take India home in the company of the tail, scoring an unbeaten 89 and finishing the match and the series with a glorious drive to long-off in the final hour of the final day of an enthralling campaign.
