Rahul Dravid reacts to Pant's Gabba heroics: 'Not saying he has replaced Dhoni'

Rishabh Pant's unbeaten innings of 89 at the Gabba during the 2020/21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy is widely regarded as one of the most remarkable displays by an overseas batsman in Australia. This is no small feat, given the plethora of outstanding innings played by visiting players in challenging conditions in Australia over the years, including some unforgettable performances by previous Indian batsmen.

One of those is Rahul Dravid's incredible double century and unbeaten 72 in the 2003 Adelaide Test that almost single-handedly pulled India out of the jaws of defeat and even gave them a first win in Australia in well over a decade.

So great was it that the performances pipped Pant's Gabba special in a fan poll conducted by ESPNCricinfo. "Geez, that's a tough one to beat," Dravid told the website.

"I think Rishabh's was an absolutely incredible performance. Watching him there, chasing to get 89 to win that Test in Brisbane, with everything on the line, with such a depleted side. To put in that kind of performance under that kind of pressure - truly sensational."

The former India captain, considered among the greatest batters of all time, took charge as the team's head coach towards the end of the year in 2021 while Pant's heroics was in January of that year. Dravid then had a first-hand experience of Pant's brilliance next year, in which the wicketkeeper batter scored 680 runs in seven Tests at an average of 61.81 and strike rate of 90.90

"And what a special cricketer he has been. He's just taken to Test cricket like a duck to water. It's just phenomenal. After [MS] Dhoni left, you felt that it might take time for someone to come in and replace him. I'm not saying he's replaced him, but certainly, in Test cricket, his performances have been absolutely sensational," said Dravid, who stepped down as head coach after leading India to the T20 World Cup title in June this year.

Pant's incredible Test career

Pant has been India's most consistent batter in Test cricket for nearly four years now. The wicketkeeper-batter had to spend more than a year in the sidelines during this period after suffering a horrific car crash in December 2022. However, it didn't look like he had gone anywhere when he made his comeback to Test cricket in India's series against Bangladesh and has averaged 46.88 in the five matches he has played thus far this year.

Pant's journey to becoming an established wicketkeeper-batter for India really started in the 2020/21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, at the start of which his inconsistency in the shorter formats had put a question mark on his place in the Indian team. He ended up being a leading figure in India's extraordinary 2-1 series wins against all odds. The most prominent of those was a match-winning 89 not out in the final Test at the Gabba which helped India become the first team in over four decades to beat Australia in a Test match at the ground.

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