India produced an impressive performance in the first Test of the series against Bangladesh on Sunday, registering a 188-run victory in Chattogram. After the side set a 513-run target for the hosts, Bangladesh produced a strong fightback in their second innings as they batted out the entire Day 4, but eventually fell short as Indian bowlers wrapped the side out on 324. For India, Cheteshwar Pujara displayed a strong outing with the bat across both innings, registering scores of 90 and 102*.
Pujara has had a roller-coaster of an year in 2022; the veteran India batter was dropped from the Test team in February following inconsistent performances. However, Pujara traveled to England to take part in the County Championships, and delivered stunning performances for Surrey to earn the Indian call-up again in June. Following his impressive knocks in Chattogram, former India all-rounder Ajay Jadeja spoke in detail about Pujara's rejuvenation.
“Don't forget he had been dropped two Tests back and was out for a series. The selectors had rejected him and the same selectors got him back. This guy has always shown in his career, right from his under-15 days, that struggle is his name,” Jadeja said on Sony Sports Network.
“He has had operations on both his knees, it is very difficult after that. This guy kept on doing the difficult tasks and he has so much love for the game that wherever you play him, he doesn't get out. He is not fond of playing shots but of scoring runs.”
{{/usCountry}}“He has had operations on both his knees, it is very difficult after that. This guy kept on doing the difficult tasks and he has so much love for the game that wherever you play him, he doesn't get out. He is not fond of playing shots but of scoring runs.”
{{/usCountry}}Further talking about his partnership with Kohli, "No one has given as much solidity as him. He and Virat Kohli have had parallel careers, both have played in the same era, he is not too far behind in terms of runs, attractiveness is probably not that much.
“If you see his contribution over the last 10 years, he has done one inch more than what was in his control.”