3 Indian heroes of Gabba 2020-21 win who won't be part of the 3rd BGT 2024-25 Test at the venue ft. Cheteshwar Pujara
After a resounding 295-run win against Australia in the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Optus Stadium in Perth, many touted India as the favorites coming into the second Test in Adelaide. However, the pink ball and playing under lights turned out to be yet another nightmare for the Indians, eventually losing by 10 wickets and surrendering the lead.
The third Test is slated to be played at the iconic Gabba in Brisbane from December 14 where India has very fond memories from their previous tour. After an incredible series win during the 2018-19 tour, India repeated their feat in 2020-21, registering another 2-1 win. It included a historic victory at the Gabba in the final Test of the tour.
On the back of a stupendous blockathon from Ravichandran Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari in the third Test in Sydney, India went into the fourth Test with the series level at 1-1. Several top players were injured ahead of the final Test and net bowlers like T Natarajan and Washington Sundar were handed over their Test debuts.
Chasing an unrealistic target of 329 in the second innings, India managed to produce a performance for the ages with so many frontline players not featuring in the XI. Rishabh Pant played an innings of a lifetime as India went on to script a three-wicket victory to win the series 2-1.
Some of the stars from the famous Gabba win won't be featuring in the third Test of the ongoing series. With that, let us have a look at three Indian heroes of Gabba 2020-21 who won't be part of the third BGT Test at the venue.
#3 Shardul Thakur
One of the unsung heroes from the final Test in Gabba during the 2020-21 tour was Shardul Thakur who produced a performance to remember.
The right-arm medium pacer bagged three crucial wickets in the first innings and played a pivotal role in restricting Australia to 369. However, it was his incredible showing with the bat, which led to India’s incredible comeback.
India was reduced to 186/6 in the first innings and was staring down the barrel when Shardul joined Washington Sundar out in the middle. The duo batted out of their skin and took on the star studded Australian bowling attack. Shardul played some incredible shots during his knock of 67, which came off 115 deliveries and was studded with nine fours and two sixes.
The 123-run stand between Sundar and Shardul helped India get within 33 runs of the Australian first-innings score. Shardul was among the wickets in the second innings as well, bagging four wickets to bowl the Aussies out for 294. His all-round exploits were instrumental in India scripting an incredible come-from-behind victory.
#2 Ajinkya Rahane
Now who would forget Rahane’s captaincy in the last three Tests of the series. India suffered a morale-shattering defeat at Adelaide in the opening Test after being skittled out for 36 in the second innings. Virat Kohli had to leave midway for the birth of his first child and India had an uphill task ahead of them.
India registered a famous win in Melbourne during the second Test to square the series 1-1 and battled out of their skin in Sydney to take the game to the series decider in Gabba. Rahane led the team admirably and rotated his bowlers quite brilliantly when he had to operate with a bunch of inexperienced bowlers.
Mohammed Siraj, playing in just his third Test, spearheaded the pace attack, and Rahane was at his best with the bowling changes. He looked good for his 37 in the first innings and followed it up with a breezy 24 in the second innings. He showed clear intent during the run chase, which clearly demonstrated that India was going after the target.
#1 Cheteshwar Pujara
One of the mainstays of the Indian batting lineup during the last two tours of Australia, Cheteshwar Pujara didn't score a century during the 2020-21 tour but his contribution was far more important than just the centuries and landmarks.
He was dismissed for 25 in the first innings but defied the Australian bowlers for 94 deliveries. Pujara went on to score a match-defining half-century in the second innings to pave the way for a historic victory at the Gabba. He was peppered with a series of short deliveries and kept getting hit on the body.
He was struck on the body 11 times during the final day of the Gabba Test but didn't flinch whatsoever. Australian captain Tim Paine even said that the main reason behind India’s victory was Pujara's resilience and never-say-die attitude. He scored 56 off 211 deliveries and shared a match-winning stand with Pant.