IND vs AUS: Rishabh Pant ridiculed by Tim Paine ahead of Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25

Former Australia cricketer Tim Paine talked about the major factor behind India winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21. He believes that Rishabh Pant wasn't the main man behind India's series win, but it was Cheteshwar Pujara who was the reason behind the visitors' series win.

The last time the India National Cricket Team toured Australia, it saw history getting scripted. The visitors went on to win the second series on the trot down under, but it was even more special than the previous one. The reason was that it was the second-string team that made the hosts look clueless.

Rishabh Pant played a massive role for India in their last series in Australia

The major credit for India winning the Test series against Australia on their last tour has been given to Rishabh Pant. The keeper-batter played an instrumental role in the series and played two great innings that took his side past the finishing line in the four-match Test series.

Rishabh Pant first played a stupendous innings of 87 runs in the Sydney Test. This helped the team draw the game when it seemed they would lose the match. After that, he played one of his best Test innings and earned huge praise for his heroics.

Rishabh Pant came up with the brilliant innings of unbeaten 89 runs that helped India chase the target of 328. This was the first time the India National Cricket Team won a Test at Gabba in Brisbane, which was known as the fortress of the Australia National Cricket Team.

The guy who won the series was Pujara - Tim Paine

But according to Tim Paine, who was Test captain of Australia during that series, Rishabh Pant wasn't the main man. He believes that one of the major reasons behind India's was Cheteshwar Pujara. The former Test captain said the right-hander wore their pacers down and stood like a wall. Speaking on the Grade Cricketer podcast, he explained:

"What I do remember, is a lot of people talk about Rishabh Pant in the last series in Australia, but the guy who won them the series was Pujara. He wore us down, he wore our pacers down. He kept getting hit on the body, but he kept getting up."

Cheteshwar Pujara was the unsung hero for the Indian Team during the Australia tour last time

For the unversed, Cheteshwar Pujara was the unsung hero for the Indian Team during the Australia tour last time. He took a lot of body blows but still stood tall for the team, blocking one end and allowing others around him to bat freely and take the game on.

Cheteshwar Pujara scored 271 runs in four matches in that series, with three half-centuries to his name. He stitched crucial partnerships with his teammates in different games and made sure that India kept the upper hand in the series after facing a horrific loss in the first game.

India surely will be missing the services of Cheteshwar Pujara this time around. He hasn't been named in the team for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.