Legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar had nothing but praise for premier batter Cheteshwar Pujara, whose lone-warrior act gave Rohit Sharma's Team India an outside chance to save the 3rd Test match in Indore on Thursday. Batting legend Gavaskar observed that Pujara was an epitome of class, composure and technique with his fighting knock against Steve Smith's Australia on Day 2 of the 3rd Test match at the Holkar Cricket Stadium.
Australia lost its last six wickets for just 11 runs in the first innings as the visitors folded for 197 on Day 2 of the series decider against hosts India. After India's Umesh Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin shared six wickets for 11 runs, Australia's Nathan Lyon opted to return the favour by sparking a batting collapse of the hosts on the same day in Indore. On a day when India's top-order batters were blown away by the visitors, veteran Pujara put up a fight for the hosts on a turning Indore track.
Reflecting on Pujara's brilliant knock in the Indore Test, Gavaskar pointed out that the star batter showcased ‘three things’ in his valiant innings. "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," Gavaskar told Star Sports.
"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," Gavaskar added.
{{/usCountry}}"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," Gavaskar added.
{{/usCountry}}Top-scoring for India in the 2nd innings, Pujara smashed 59 off 142 balls to drag the hosts to 163 in 60.3 overs. Pujara's batting vigil helped India in setting a below-par target of 76 to win the 3rd Test at Indore. Pujara has scored 98 runs in the first 3 Test matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
"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," Gavaskar concluded.
The 35-year-old was removed by veteran spinner Nathan Lyon, who bagged 8 wickets in the 2nd innings. It took an unbelievable catch from Australian skipper Steve Smith to end Pujara's resistance in the Indore Test. Spin wizard Lyon shattered multiple records with his bowling masterclass in the low-scoring contest. Lyon has surpassed Muttiah Muralitharan to secure the second spot on the list of bowlers with the most wickets against Rohit and Co. in India. The 35-year-old is also the leading wicket-taker in the history of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.