India started their Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024 with a full throttle win as they defeated Australia by 295 runs in the first Test. The game saw the glitter of Jasprit Bumrah and Virat Kohli. Bumrah had been declared the Player of the Match, with eight wickets, while claiming five wickets in the initial innings. Kohli for the first time in such long time proved himself for which he was signed into his team, as the play provided a strong base to lead the team towards the success with his 30th Test century.
As the series enters its second Test, former Australia captain Allan Border said which player he feared the most was Rishabh Pant talking to Cricblog.net about why he fears that the Batman can alter the game in lower down the order.
Looking at the way Rishabh Pant performed in Australia, Border was on his head saying, “Well, (Rishabh) Pant is one player that worries me…Because we have seen a bit of it like at the SCG in the last series. I mean, he can just take the game away from you. Batting at 7, he bats so quickly and scores his runs so quickly all past the ground.”
Border also expressed admiration for Pant’s wicketkeeping skills and was pleased to see him back on the field after recovering from a severe car accident in December 2022. “It’s just good to see him back playing, after his accident. So he’s one player I’ll be looking (forward to),” Border added.
Allan Border believes that India’s performance will also depend on the performance of Jasprit Bumrah. A “serious bowler” Bumrah has been, says Border: “He’s done well against Australia and in Australia in the past so if he’s in the lineup and is bowling well, I think you know then India have that psychological thing over a few of the Australian batsmen because he is a serious bowler.”
Border felt Bumrah’s performance could win the series’s balance in terms of confidence. “But if he doesn’t play well then the confidence obviously swings the other way. I think he’s the key,” Border stated. India would head into the second Test, and both Pant and Bumrah would surely play important roles in maintaining the momentum and testing the Australians.
