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Players'I don't understand why he does that': Ex-PAK captain notices shift in Pujara's approach 'whenever he is under pressure'
The former Pakistan captain noticed a change in Pujara's batting approach whenever his place in the XI becomes uncertain.
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Team India gained an upper hand on Day 2 of the Johannesburg Test against South Africa, taking a 58-run lead with eight wickets remaining in the second innings. The visitors, riding on Shardul Thakur's incredible figures of 7/61, bowled South Africa out on 229 after putting 202 in the first innings. At the end of the day, Cheteshwar Pujara (35*) and Ajinkya Rahane (11*) remained unbeaten with India's score at 85/2.
Pujara, who had been going through a rough patch for quite some time in Test cricket, produced an impressive outing in the closing hours of Day 2 as he scored at a brisk pace in the second innings. His unbeaten 35 came off just 42 deliveries and former Pakistan captain Salman Butt noticed a pattern in India no.3's batting approach.
“I noticed this one thing (about Pujara). He was under pressure in the England tour as well and he played a very positive innings, similar to the one he played today. Whenever he is under pressure, he plays positive and plays his shot. I don't understand why he goes back into his blocking mode then. He needs to think about his approach,” Butt said.
The former Pakistan captain insisted that Pujara tends to play “freely” when there is significant pressure on him to perform.
“Whenever he is under pressure, he starts playing freely. When there are fears that he might be dropped from the XI, he starts playing his shots. He gets the crucial runs with a good tempo. You saw that in England as well, when he failed in 4-5 innings, he played an 80-90 run knock (91 in second innings in Leeds Test) at a decent strike rate,” Butt said on his official YouTube channel.
“Even today, when he was pushed against the wall, when there was uncertainty if he will play the next match or not, he scored at a very good strike rate. The moment the ball comes in his zone, he plays his shots.”
Butt urged Pujara to not go “back into his shell” and continue with the same approach, insisting that there is no need to tweak with the strategy that is reaping rewards.
“So, I don't know why he goes into a shell once he gets the runs. When you have the runs, keep that tempo, keep playing those shots! Maybe sometime, he will find out very soon that he has to play like this, he doesn't need to go back into his shell. He's looking good, he is presenting the full face of the bat because he is playing according to the pitch condition. If you play defensively on this pitch, you can get out at any time. Go for the runs,” said Butt.
