Ahead Of Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Pat Cummins Reflects On Rishabh Pant's Impact In Game

New Delhi, Sep 23: Ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Australian skipper Pat Cummins on Monday showered praise on India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant and said that they will try to keep him quiet.

Pant made his return to Test cricket in the two-match long-format series after his life-threatening road accident back in 2022-end. In the Chennai Test, the wicketkeeper-batter played a 109-run knock from 128 balls at a strike rate of 85.16 during India's second inning.

Rohit Sharma-led India clinched a massive 280-run win over Bangladesh in the first Test match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday.

In the upcoming days, Australia will take on India in the prestigious Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

The most awaited Border-Gavaskar series between India and Australia will begin on November 22, with the first Test at Perth.

Over the years, India has regained an upper hand over Australia in the series. India has won its previous four series against Australia in a row, including two wins in Australia in the 2018-19 and 2020-21 seasons.

This has made India a much more successful side in the series, with India winning the BGT 10 times and Australia winning it five times, with their last series win coming in during the 2014-15 season. Their last series win in India was in 2004-05.

Pant has played seven Test matches and 12 innings against Australia, where he scored 624 runs at a strike rate of 72.13.

Speaking on Star Sports, Cummins said that every team has one of those players who can take a game away. He also praised Pant's reverse lap shot and called it "incredible".

"Look, I think every team has one or two of those players who can take the game on. We have Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh. I think with those guys, you know they're going to be aggressive. You miss your area a little bit, and they can take the game on. Someone like Rishabh Pant might play a reverse lap, and it's an incredible shot," Cummins said.

The Australia Test skipper said that Pant had a lot of influence in plenty of Test series.

"That's just a part of who he is. We've become accustomed to it nowadays because some of those ridiculous shots are a bit more common. He is someone who has had a big influence on a couple of series. Got to try to keep him quiet," he added.

The second Test, scheduled for December 6 to 10 at Adelaide Oval, will feature the exciting day-night format under the stadium's lights. After that, fans will turn their attention to The Gabba in Brisbane for the third Test, which will be held from December 14 to 18.

The customary Boxing Day Test, set for December 26 to 30 at Melbourne's storied Melbourne Cricket Ground, will bring the series to its penultimate stage.

The fifth and final Test, to take place at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3 to 7, will serve as the series climax, promising a dramatic conclusion to an exciting contest. (ANI)