Brisbane, January 19: Rishabh Pant was not so surprisingly named as man of the match. It was a natural choice once he anchored India's tall chase of 328 with a brilliant unbeaten 89, cornerstone of India's historic three-wicket victory at the Gabba on Tuesday (January 19). Pant rightfully termed it as one of the biggest moments of his life.
"This is one of the biggest moments of my life, and I'm happy that all the support staff and all my teammates supported me even when I wasn't playing," he said after the match.
"It's been a dream series. The team management always backs me and tells me, you are a matchwinner and you have to go win the match for the team. I keep thinking every day that I want to win matches for India, and I did it today. It was a fifth-day pitch and the ball was turning a bit. I thought I have to be disciplined with my shot selection," said an elated Pant.
Skipper Ajinkya Rahane also praised the whole team for contributing to team's success in a hard-fought series.
"It really means a lot to us. I don't know how to describe this victory. I'm just proud of all the boys, each and every individual. We just wanted to give our best, not to think about the result. When I went in, conversation between me and Pujara was Puji to bat normal and me to go for my shots, because we knew Rishabh and Mayank were there.
"Credit to Pujara, the way he handled the pressure was magnificent, and Rishabh was brilliant in the end. Taking 20 wickets was the key, that's what we identified, that's why we picked five bowlers. Washington Sundar got that balance for us, and intention was to play five bowlers. Siraj had played two Test matches, Saini one, Thakur one, Natarajan also on debut, all credit to them.
"After Adelaide, we didn't discuss about what happened, we just wanted to play our game, show good attitude, show good character on the field. It was all about the team effort. I would also like to thank our fans who came out here and supported us, and the Indian team would like to give Nathan Lyon a signed jersey for his 100th Test match," said Rahane to host broadcaster.