Marcus Harris relives Pujara's Gabba heroics, says 'he batted like an Australian'

Australian opener Marcus Harris has lauded Team India Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara's grit & determination as he recalled the famous fourth Test match between India and Australia at the Gabba, Brisbane earlier this year.

On January 19, 2021, history was rewritten by the Indian team as they successfully chased down a mammoth 328-run target on the final day of the series-deciding Test match to win the series 2-1 and thereby, ending the Aussies' 32-year-old unbeaten run at the venue.

'He batted like an Australian': Cheteshwar Pujara

“The final day was amazing to watch. We were thinking the whole day if they would go for the runs or not. I think Rishabh played the best innings that day, but for Pujara to be copping an absolute barrage from everyone, it felt like he batted like an Australian, taking everything on the chest and getting on with it. The rest of the team just batted around him,” said Marcus Harris while speaking on ‘Cricket Life Stories’ YouTube channel.

Cheteshwar Pujara stands strong, braves bouncer barrage from Aus bowlers

The Gujarat cricketer made the Australian bowlers toil hard for his wicket even though they were resorting to bodyline bowling tactics. He stood tall by braving constant bouncer barrage and played an impactful knock of 56 runs from 211 deliveries.

The Rajkot batsman might not have taken his team past the finish line after he was trapped plumb in front of the wicket by Pat Cummins. Nonetheless, he had done his job and ensured that  India did not concede the game from the position they were in at that point in time. 

Youngster Rishabh Pant then anchored the Indian chase with an unbeaten 89 as the Men In Blue successfully chased down the target to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy by a 2-1 margin and also register successive Test series triumphs on Australian soil.