4 reasons to cherish India's series victory in Australia

#3 Rishabh Pant's ascendancy

Australia v India - 4th Test: Day 5

A look at India's Test cricket history shows that the wicket-keeper role has always been a problem for the Men in Blue. Seldom has the team found a player who is solid with the gloves and can give solid contributions with the bat too.

Except for MS Dhoni and Syed Kirmani, no wicket-keeper has ever played more than 50 games for India as the designated wicket-keeper. Among players who have played more than 10 games, Dhoni's average of 38.09 is the highest for any glovesman in history for India in red-ball cricket.

Ever since Dhoni's retirement, Wriddhiman Saha has been India's full-time keeper. The Bengal keeper is one of the finest a team can hope to have behind the wicket. His glove work is arguably the best in world cricket at the moment. However, his batting was barely reliable and left a lot to desire

A serious injury to Saha just at the start of India's overseas cycle left India looking for a replacement at the worst possible time. India's first move was to turn to experienced heads in Parthiv Patel and Dinesh Karthik. After both failed to impress, Kohli's side decided to give young Rishabh Pant a debut in the third Test in England.

The Delhi keeper has not looked back since. He has already got two centuries to his name outside the subcontinent, which is more than any Indian wicketkeeper has achieved in the past. Not to forget, the 21- year-old twice lost his wicket at 92 in the home series against West Indies.

In the 9 Test matches Pant has played so far, he has scored 696 runs at an average of 49.71. In Australia, the Delhi Daredevils star was the series' second highest run scorer, only behind the sensational Cheteshwar Pujara, with 350 runs to his name. To get more runs than Virat Kohli speaks volumes in itself.

While his incredible 159 at SCG inflated his run count, Pant contributed with at least a 20 or a 30 in every innings. With India's faltering tail, these were more than meaningful contributions at his batting spot.

Pant is still an extremely young player and naturally still has a lot of things to improve upon. There is clearly work needed on many aspects of his game, like his temperament while batting or his work with the gloves. But he has already shown signs of improvement and there is nothing to suggest he will not continue to become even better with time.

While he entertained fans with his war of words from behind the stumps in Australia, he would have put a smile on Kohli's face with the knowledge that India have found a wicketkeeper who is likely to serve them for more than a decade.