Former India No.3 batter and presenter Cheteshwar Pujara has strolled down memory lane to recall the Brisbane Test from the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21 series Down Under. India won the four-match Test series 2-1.
Speaking to former Indian opener Aakash Chopra on YouTube, Pujara revealed he batted with painkillers during the Brisbane Test, which India won by three wickets. Notably, Pujara scored 56 runs off 211 balls with seven boundaries in the fourth innings.
Pujara went on to recall that only 12 players were available for selection for the Gabba Test, as multiple players were down due to various injuries. Despite injuring his finger, Pujara went on to play the Test, propelling India to a series win.
“I got hit by a ball during a practice session for the Sydney Test, and my finger was bleeding. I still did not stop my practice and continued batting. Then I spoke to the physio that this looks a bit serious; shall we do the scan? Once the Test match ended, we came to know that Ashwin had a back spasm. He may not be available for the last Test. Hanuma Vihari had a hamstring tear, so he was also not available. Actually, there were just 12 people available for selection before that Test,” Pujara said.
“The physio asked me, ‘Are you sure you want to go for a scan?’ Even if it shows a fracture, you still might have to play. I told him, ‘You are right; let’s avoid the scan and just protect the finger.’ I used to take medicines like painkillers for that, and he protected the finger well during the Test,” he added.
“When I walked into bat, it was the perfect platform because I had worked hard throughout the series, but when it comes to my individual performance, it hadn’t been that good. My numbers were not that good in Australia. I was very determined that even if I drew the Test match by batting the whole day, we would have won the series,” he noted.
Delving into the details of the Test, India chased down a 328-run target to hand Australia their first Test defeat at The Gabba in 32 years. Keeper-batter Rishabh Pant was the top scorer with his unbeaten 89 off 138 balls. Shubman Gill also shone with 91 runs off 146 balls.
