Cheteshwar Pujara batted like an Australian in Brisbane: Marcus Harris
Australia opener Marcus Harris has heaped praise on Cheteshwar Pujara, stating that the Indian batsman played like an Australian in the and final match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Gabba. India chased down a record-breaking target of 329 runs to win the series and breach the Gabbatoir.
Pujara's resilience was on display on Day 5 as he copped multiple blows to his body but refused to give away his wicket. He faced 221 deliveries in his fighting knock of 56 runs. Shubman Gill, Ajinkya Rahane, and Rishabh Pant batted around him to pull off one of the greatest victories in Team India's history.
On a recent podcast, "Cricket Life Stories," Marcus Harris stated that Pujara took everything on his chest and kept the Aussie bowlers at bay.
"The final day was amazing to watch. The thought process the whole day was, 'Are they going to for the runs or are they not?' I think Rishabh played the best innings that day. But Pujara copped an absolute barrage from everyone and wore them down. I felt he batted a bit like an Australian, taking everything on the chest. Everyone else batted around him," said Harris.
Rishabh Pant's knock was unbelievable: Marcus Harris
The Australian tour completely also changed the trajectory of Rishabh Pant's international career. The wicket-keeper batsman hit a match-winning knock of 89* to emerge as the hero of the Gabba Test.
Pant also played a swashbuckling knock of 91 runs in the third Test. However, he got out just as Virat Kohli's side were about to chase down a total of 407 runs. Ravichandran Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari battled through injuries to pull off a draw.
Marcus Harris lauded Pant for his performances during the series.
"Rishabh Pant's innings was unbelievable. Everyone says he has magic in him, and he has shown that a couple of times now. It was disappointing to lose the series but sometimes in cricket, you just have to tip your hat and say, 'Well done,'" added Marcus Harris.