Rishabh Pant’s match-winning knock of 89 runs in the
fourth and final Test against Australia made Tarak Sinha a proud coach. “I
am really happy to see him shine today. No words can express my feelings today
after seeing him perform with full glory in today’s innings. He has played a
beautiful innings today,” Sinha, who has been training Pant since the age
of 12, told Opoyi in a phone conversation.

Sinha, who runs the Sonnet Cricket Club in Delhi and has
coached 12 cricketers who have gone on to play international cricket for India,
remembers the time when a lot of questions were raised on Pant’s batting and
wicket-keeping.

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“He always had the capability and he often used to
discuss his tough days with me. I did what I was supposed to do as a coach, I
gave him the much-needed confidence and introduced him to his strengths and
made him realize that he has all the potential to be a great cricketer,”
he said.

“He needed a mentor during troubled days and I was
there for him. Since he lost his father so I am also a father figure to
him,” added Sinha.

In Pics: Magnificent India win epic series in last hour of last Test

An Indian cricket team saddled with broken bones and
battered bodies showed a never-seen-before zeal to retain the coveted
Border-Gavaskar trophy with a historic three-wicket win over Australia in the
fourth and final Test in Brisbane, successfully chasing a 328-run target to
seal the four-match series 2-1.

A minefield of talent called Rishabh Pant (89 not out off
138 balls) channelled his inner ‘Mad Max’ to scare the daylights out of the
Australians with his breathtaking strokeplay, ending the home team’s
32-year-old unbeaten run at the ‘Fortress Gabba’.

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Pant’s innings certainly was the highlight of the day and
also the reason why India got the historic Test victory. However, his demeanor
after the win was calm and composed just like a veteran who knew this will
happen.

“I think it was more to do with the maturity that he
got with time and age. Also, he didn’t experience the best time on grounds of
late so this innings might have come as a relief for him. I am now sure he will
keep up the pace and will give us more reasons to smile in days to come,”
sums up Sinha.