Rishabh Pant and Cheteshwar Pujara: India’s Rescue Mavericks since 2019

A cricket enthusiast would rarely put Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant in the same sentence. While one’s a batting barnacle, the other is a freakish run-explorer. But for better or worse, the two cover the entire spectrum of Test match batting.

Despite their contrasting approach to Test cricket, Pujara and Pant seem to complement each other well at the crease. Whenever the two cricketers form a batting alliance out in the middle, they either launch a rescue mission for their country or pile further misery on the opposition.

Pant’s aggressive play style and Pujara’s determination to endure add an exciting ‘Fire and Ice’ background to the game.

It all began during the Australian summer of 2019, i.e. within the first year of Pant’s Test initiation. During the first innings of the historic fourth Test ‘Down Under’, the dashing wicketkeeper-batsman joined his senior teammate at the crease, with India’s score reading 329-5.

Just when the Australian pacers looked set to wrap up the hosts, the two cricketers staged a rapid 89-run stand and steered their side past the 400-run mark. Moreover, both plundered identical tons as they battered the Aussie bowlers. 

The result: Virat Kohli’s insurgent Team India claimed their first ever Test series win on Australian soil.

Two summers later, both cricketers returned to these shores along with the rest of the travelling Indian party. Left without a regular skipper and plagued with injuries, a ravaged Indian line-up stood up to the experienced Baggy Greens in their backyard to claim bragging rights in the Border-Gavaskar trophy.

As one can guess, two of the architects of India’s Four-Test triumphant trip were none other than their wicketkeeper Pant and Test batting merchant Pujara. Their partnerships at the SCG and a match-defining one at the GABBA scripted a series win for the ages.  

A month later, the polar opposites of Test match batting were again united for a partnership, this time on a turning Indian pitch against the visiting Englishmen. Chasing England’s massive first-innings total of 578, the hosts soon found themselves slipping at 73-4.

What followed was a face-saving 119-run stand, where the youngster punched a rapid 91 while the Test specialist washed up 143 deliveries to score 73. However, the two eventually became victims of a Dom Bess four-fer as India conceded a huge first-innings advantage and, ultimately, the match itself to the visitors.

Upon India’s return trip to England this month, the duo joined each other after the departure of Virat Kohli. Both cricketers joined hands to put together crucial half-centuries and extended India’s lead to a respectable total.

While 30-Test old Pant still has a long journey ahead of him, his 34-year-old senior teammate is already in the twilight stages of his career. With Pujara’s immense appetite for runs, one can safely say the cricketer can still serve his country for at least another couple of years. 

On the other hand, a red-ball purist like myself can only hope for more entertaining partnerships by the yin and yang of Test match batting.