'Hope all of us realise the importance of Pujara, Pant and Ashwin' - Sourav Ganguly takes a dig at critics after India's remarkable show at SCG

Team India scripted a memorable draw against Australia in the third Test of the four-match Border Gavaskar Trophy at Sydney Cricket Ground. After being outshined by the hosts in all facets of the game for the first four days, the visitors bounced back stronger on Day 5 as Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant along with Hanuma Vihari and Ravi Ashwin showed great character and resilience. 

Congratulations and appreciation poured in for team India for a stunning effort from all over the cricket fraternity. What made this game more special was the fact that India was without the services of their mainstays including captain Virat Kohli, and pacer sensations Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, and Umesh Yadav. 

Former Indian captain and the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Sourav Ganguly also lauded the players for their brilliant effort and wished them all the best for winning the next game at The Gabba in Brisbane and the series too. However, Ganguly didn’t fail to shut the mouth of the fans and experts who were criticizing and questioning the place of Pujara, Pant and Ashwin in the playing XI. 

“Hope all of us realise the importance of pujara,pant and Ashwin in cricket teams..batting at 3 in test cricket against quality bowling is not always hitting through the line ..almost 400 test wickets don’t come just like that..well fought india..time to win the series @bcci,” Sourav Ganguly tweeted.

Hope all of us realise the importance of pujara,pant and Ashwin in cricket teams..batting at 3 in test cricket against quality bowling is not always hitting through the line ..almost 400 test wickets don't come just like that..well fought india..time to win the series @bcci

— Sourav Ganguly (@SGanguly99) January 11, 2021

Rishabh Pant emerges as a hero of the fourth innings at SCG 

Notably, many cricket fans and pundits weren’t happy with the inclusion of Pujara and Ashwin in the team as they felt that both the players are past their prime time and are now just wasting a spot in the team. Similarly, Rishabh Pant wasn’t spared as he was put under major scrutiny after his poor performance with the gloves. 

However, all the three aforementioned players finally managed to shut down the critics as in the last innings Pujara played a remarkable knock of 77 runs off 205 deliveries while Rishabh Pant was also at his aggressive best as he added 97 runs to the scoreboard in just 118 deliveries. The two batsmen had also stitched a crucial 100+ run partnership for India in the fourth innings. 

Ravi Ashwin hammered the opposition with both the bat and ball. The spinner managed to scalp two priced wickets of David Warner and Steve Smith in the third innings along with successfully defending 259 balls with Hanuma Vihari on the last day to help India make a comeback.