The India batsman played a typically calm innings for his fifth triple-figure knock for Sussex this season, which helped assume control against Middlesex in the Division II English County game
After the frenzy and bustle of international games, watching first-class cricket unfold sedately in England is pleasant and calming. At Lord’s, the Middlesex versus Sussex County game was played in searing heat—it was the equivalent of Delhi’s hot weather cricket.
Cheteshwar Pujara celebrates his double hundred. (Twitter/@@HomeOfCricket)
With the English summer becoming an Indian summer some concessions had to be made—sessions of play reduced to 90 minutes, extra drinks breaks allowed and umpires empowered to suspend play on health considerations. Lord’s too relaxed its strict dress code--members in the pavilion were allowed to dispense with the tie, but a jacket remained mandatory.
The excessive heat kept spectators away but Lord’s retained its solemn dignity. Stewards let in people through the turnstiles with a smile, the buzz of a full house was missing but nothing disturbed the magical aura of the place. The absence of top performers does not diminish the grandeur of this theatre of cricket.
The game was played on a side strip, which reduced the square leg boundary to 60 yards but stretched point to 90. Middlesex elected to bowl which seemed crazy because it was extremely hot and there was little that was notable from a cricket standpoint in the first session. This changed when Pujara walked in half an hour after lunch, by which time Umesh Yadav was at fine leg having bowled 10 overs in Nagpur-like heat.
Pujara at Lord’s was no different from Pujara at Rajkot—he was his usual dour, driven, deliberate self. He played himself in carefully, leaving length balls alone trusting the bounce on a wicket with decent carry. When the quicks had three slips, Pujara didn’t edge any. When they put three fielders to plug the flick on the leg side, he kept finding the gaps.
The beauty of Pujara is that his methods are simple, they look ordinary with no evidence of elegance, flair or flamboyance. His bat is broader than the sight screen at the pavilion end, his heart even broader. Pujara’s batting is marked by efficiency, competence and loads of skill. He understands his strengths (and limitations) and doesn’t get beyond himself.
In terms of fierce concentration and focus, he is second to none. In the middle, Pujara was typically circumspect, suspicious of the ball, almost asleep and inactive. He is not one to dominate the bowling or take control but also not impolite to ignore a gift. If there is a scoring opportunity he won’t decline the offer. Others stride out to the middle to express themselves/enjoy/play their natural game but such thoughts don’t clutter his mind space. Batting to him is duty, making runs his job, an obligation to the team.
His method is to extract runs by frustrating the bowlers, pushing himself through will power and respecting old virtues of batting. Pujara’s batting is dictated by principles coaches drilled into kids before T20 cricket was born. The way to success is by occupying the crease, leaving balls outside off and being patient. For runs to come you must stay in the middle.
At Lord’s, Pujara didn’t deviate from this mantra for a moment in his marathon effort. Starting Day 2 on 115, he had marched to 143 by lunch. He reached 150 having spent 100 overs blunting the Middlesex bowling. After lunch, he temporarily went into attack mode, once smashing leggie Luke Hollman over mid wicket for six. Apart from this flourish, it was stately progress. He was neither shaken nor stirred. Not even when India teammate Umesh Yadav bowled a sharp spell down the slope from the pavilion end in the afternoon, which included a few short balls.
On reaching 200, Pujara raised his bat to acknowledge the polite applause from the Member’s stand and other spectators. He finished at 231 and must have enjoyed the effort (403 balls, eight hours) and the occasion though he has done this many times before. Such is his hunger that for Pujara this was one more satisfying day at office.
But for players in both sides, Middlesex and Sussex, this was a batting masterclass from a red-ball specialist. For them this was education, a tutorial from a modern champion who is nearing 100 Tests, whose first class career stretches to 17 years and has produced close to 18,000 runs.
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