For all the criticism he receives, Cheteshwar Pujara had a pretty high strike-rate at the Gabba. In 211 balls, he got struck on the body, b...
For all the criticism he receives, Cheteshwar Pujara had a pretty high strike-rate at the Gabba. In 211 balls, he got struck on the body, by a conservative estimate, 11 times. Once every 19 balls or so.
It was a number that would have been fine in the boxing ring too. And as he took the pounding, one couldn’t help but think of a famous bout involving Muhammad Ali. But it wasn’t as Shane Warne said, the Thrilla in Manila, rather it was the Rumble in the Jungle.
On paper, the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ which took place in Zaire in 1974 was a mismatch. The reigning champion George Foreman had scored 24 consecutive knockouts, and he didn’t even see the ageing 32-year-old Ali as an opponent.
Just as perhaps not many in Australia saw the injury-riddled Indian squad as an opponent. There was fight, there was grit, but India had simply run out of players and were forced to turn to their net bowlers to put XI players on the field at Brisbane. Opponents? Only a team that Australia thought they could easily knockout.
Watch: Cheteshwar Pujara stands tall despite multiple blows to set up India’s historic win at Gabba
“I don’t like fights,” Foreman had then said. “I just land the right punch and...
