The second day of the Test match ended with a heartbreak for the Indian fans as they were skittled out for 163 in the second innings after taking down Australia emphatically. Braving a host of intimidating bowlers in the line-up, Cheteshwar Pujara fought till the very end as he stitched together a crucial 59, helping India pile up those numbers on the card.
Former Indian captain, Sunil Gavaskar was all praise for Pujara, especially talking about how he navigated his way through the pitch that had all possible shenanigans that a batter would never accept with a smile on his face.
Reflecting on Pujara’s swashbuckling knock, Gavaskar said, “He showed three things – great patience, good technique and then the intent. Whenever he got a slight chance to punch the ball, he was scoring runs. Whenever he got a chance, he stepped out and drove the ball. In the end, he even hit a six after stepping out.”
He further added, “His intention was always to score runs and that he doesn’t have to just stand on the pitch. We saw his knocks in Brisbane and Sydney, there he was trying to tire the bowlers. Cheteshwar Pujara knows extremely well how to adjust his game according to the match situation.”
Highlighting the bling factor about Cheteshwar Pujara, Gavaskar said, “You need defensive ability in Test cricket, where you can keep out the good balls. If you are a genius like Tendulkar or Sehwag, who used to hit boundaries off good balls, they have a different ability, but Cheteshwar Pujara’s ability is to occupy the crease and tire out the bowlers.” Pujara had a silent start to the Test series but yesterday’s knock under pressure is even more of a reason to learn from the current number three of the Indian squad, particularly his ability to take any condition, head on.
