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Cricket Players'I closed my eyes and ran, Saini was running on one leg': Pant relives winning moment in Brisbane against Australia
Speaking in a recent interaction, India's Rishabh Pant recalled how he forgot about Navdeep Saini's groin injury and started calling for a '3' after hitting the shot.
Rishabh Pant's scintillating knock of 89* on the final day of the 4th Test against Australia in Brisbane will be remembered for a long time. It was perhaps one of the most memorable moments in cricket history when he struck Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood for a boundary to win the match for India. The result meant that for the first time in 32 years, Aussies had lost a Test at Gabba.
The boundary also sealed India's series win in Australia for the 2nd time in a row, despite all the odds stacked against a depleted and inexperienced Indian team that was missing key players due to injuries.
India required 3 runs to win when Pant drove Cummins straight down the ground. It seemed like the mid-off fielder would get to it, But somehow, the ball went racing to the boundary ropes with the help of the quick outfield, thus winning the match for the visitors. Speaking in a recent interaction, Pant recalled how he forgot about Navdeep Saini's groin injury and started calling for a '3' after hitting the shot.
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"When I played the lost shot, I felt the ball hit the bottom of the bat. The outfield was also slow. So when the ball was travelling, I told Saini (non-striker). I told him Saini '3, not 2 but 3'. His groin injury slipped my mind and I was running fast," Pant told Sports Today.
"First run, I closed my eyes and ran. While running the second run, I noticed that the mid-off fielder didn't even chase the ball. I was wondering 'why is this fielder not running?'.
"Then I noticed, the ball was going towards the boundary, then I was filled with joy. I was shouting 'Saini 3, we have to run 3'. Saini was running on one leg. It was fun," he added.
Pant was named the man of the match for his performance at Gabba. He has been included in the squad for the upcoming Test series against England, but it still remains to be seen if the performance in the longest format will spark a return in the limited-overs series.
