‘997’: Brad Hogg predicts number of balls Cheteshwar Pujara will play in series against England

Former Australia spinner Brad Hogg talked about how Pujara might approach England’s bowling during the series

Published on: Feb 5, 2021, 09:20:47 IST

By hindustantimes.com

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Cheteshwar Pujara has gained a cult status in Test cricket due to his patient approach on the pitch. In a world full of explosive batsmen, Pujara brings calm and composure to his batting. He is one of the few batsmen in the traditional Test mold who take a number of balls to get going. This was evidently visible in the recently-concluded Test series in Australia where Pujara frustrated the Aussie bowlers with his batting.

Pujara faced 928 balls during the four-match Test series against Australia, which was the most by any batsmen. However, Pujara was among the runs as well as he was the second-highest run-getter for India during the series. His innings of 56 in the last Test proved to be a memorable on as he took 11 body blows during his stay at the crease but continued to bat on. India eventually chased down Australia’s target to win the Test series 2-1.

Former Australia spinner Brad Hogg talked about how Pujara might approach England’s bowling during the series. He said that he expects nothing different from Pujara and even predicted the number of balls he will face.

"(Cheteshwar) Pujara, I reckon, is going to play some 997 balls for the series in these four Test matches. Dig in, and watch him block away," Hogg said on his Youtube channel.

England captain Joe Root also hailed Cheteshwar Pujara as he said that the India No. 3 is a ‘fantastic player’ and is going to be a ‘huge wicket’ for them.

“I think he is a fantastic player, I had the pleasure of playing a couple of games with him for Yorkshire. To learn from him and speak about batting, was really interesting.

“Playing against him and being on the wrong end of him scoring some runs, you learn from those kinds of innings. You have seen his importance and what he adds to the Indian team, he is going to be a huge wicket for us, no doubt,” said Root.

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