Cheteshwar Pujara picks Gabba Test 2021 as his favourite overseas victory

Cheteshwar Pujara might not be in good form for India as of now as a result of which he got sidelined from the Indian Test squad for underwhelming performances in the last 12 months. However, he was one of India’s most reliable overseas batters at the crucial number three position not too long ago.

Pujara had played a crucial knock in the Johannesburg Test match against South Africa in January 2018 where he scored his first run after 53 deliveries on a tough surface with a lot of uneven bounce and finished as the highest run-scorer during the Australia tour with 521 runs in the 2018/19 season.

However, none of those are his favourite overseas Test victory and the only thing that remains special for him is India’s memorable triumph at the Gabba in January 2021 when they ended Australia’s 33-year dominance by playing an outstanding and fearless brand of cricket.

It so happened that during a Q&A session on Twitter, CricTracker had asked the senior Test batter which was his favourite overseas Test victory, and replying to the same he picked the Gabba Test match of 2021.

#AskCP Your favourite overseas Test victory?

— CricTracker (@Cricketracker) August 24, 2022

Gabba 2021 https://t.co/2lJDhSrpZQ

— Cheteshwar Pujara (@cheteshwar1) August 24, 2022

When Cheteshwar Pujara showed a never-say-die attitude in the Brisbane Test

Cheteshwar Pujara had a lion’s share in making that win at Gabba possible for India. The Australian bowlers especially Josh Hazlewood resorted to bodyline bowling tactics and the Saurashtra cricketer survived a bouncer barrage after being struck on his fingers, helmet, hands, etc.

Nonetheless, Pujara braved all the pain and stood like a firm rock and scored a vital half-century, but he could not continue for too long as he was trapped plumb in front of the wicket by Pat Cummins. Eventually Shubman Gill (91) and wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant (89*) helped India in getting past the finish line to seal the series 2-1 and retain the iconic Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Thus, the Indian team also ended up registering consecutive Test series victories on Australian soil. Pujara finished the 2020/21 Australia Test series with 271 runs and faced 928 deliveries.