South Africa is the only regular Test-playing nation where Team India have not registered a Test series win. However, the team came very close to conquering their final frontier in the Freedom Test Series 2021-22. Virat Kohli-led India came into the third Test with the series tantalizingly poised at 1-1.
Team India even managed to secure a first-innings lead of 13 runs in the match. The lead was slender but valuable, considering the bouncy pitch of Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town. No batter had looked comfortable on the first two days of the match. But the Indian batters were expected to consolidate their lead in the third innings.
However, the famed Indian batting line-up crumbled under the disciplined bowling of the Proteas. The likes of KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal and Cheteshwar Pujara were all dismissed cheaply. When it looked like India had lost a golden opportunity to clinch the series, India’s wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant stepped up.
Pant stitched together a 94-run stand with captain Virat Kohli and dragged India out of a tough situation.
The talismanic Pant went on to smash a gritty century on day 3 to keep India’s hopes alive. Pant’s scintillating knock was laced with six 4s and four 6s. Moreover, Pant was the only batter who looked at ease on the tough pitch of Newlands. Fans still marvel how Pant was able to blunt the formidable South African bowling attack which included Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Lungi Ngidi.
The wicketkeeper batter remained unbeaten on 100 as India were bowled out for 198 in the second innings. India eventually lost the match as South Africa easily chased down the target of 212 runs to win the Test and the series.
Although India succumbed to defeat, Pant’s memorable innings endeared him to the fans. He had played a similar inning at the Gabba in the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21. Due to Pant’s 89 off just 138 balls, India had managed to clinch an improbable Test series victory down under.
Rishabh Pant has emerged as a genuine match-winner in the last few years in Test cricket. He has cemented his place on the Test side with fearless cricket and a never-say-die attitude.
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