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‘We ended up putting 250 on the board’: Australia's nemesis Pujara rates his ‘very special’ knock against the Kangaroos
Cheteshwar Pujara was the vital cog in the Indian unit, when they toured Australia back in 2018-19 and defeated the Kangaroos 2-1 at their own backyard.
Cheteshwar Pujara has emerged as India's toughest custodian in the red-ball format, and his record against Australia speaks volume of his temperament and rock-solid attitude. Pujara was the vital cog in the Indian unit, when they toured Australia back in 2018-19 and defeated the Kangaroos 2-1 in their own backyard. Pujara had then finished as the leading run-scorer of the series, as he accumulated 521 runs from four matches, which included three centuries and one half-century.
Fast forward one year, Pujara failed to replicate a similar show in the 2020-21 tour, but finished as the second-highest run-scorer from the Indian camp, managing 274 runs from four outings. He also boasts of a very good overall record against the Kangaroos, and has managed to score the most runs against them in the longer format in his career so far.
However, when Pujara was asked to rate his best innings, the batter feels every knock left him with different emotions. Recalling his stellar show against Australia in an interview with the Times of India, Pujara noted: "Each and every knock of mine is important for me. It will be difficult to rate them. But what I can do is mention some of my favourite knocks against Australia, not ranking-wise, though. I'll start with my debut innings. When you are playing debut game, it's always important. I'll always remember those 72 runs that I scored. There was a lot of pressure on me. As a youngster, I was anxious, I hadn't done well in the first innings. Since I had scored a lot of runs in domestic cricket, I wanted to prove that I belong to the international level.
"After that, the 92 against Australia (in the second innings) in Bangalore in 2017. We were on the backfoot. We had been out cheaply in the first innings, they had a 87-run lead, and in the second innings, we were 120 for 4. And then I had a match-defining 118-run partnership with Ajinkya, and my knock was decisive too.
“And then the 123 at Adelaide in December 2018 will always remain very special for me and the team, because we were 41 for 4, and then 127 for 6 in the first innings, and I had little partnerships with Rohit (Sharma) and Ashwin and then with the tailenders, and we ended up putting 250 on the board. That was a special knock because it allowed our bowlers to bowl them to bowl out for 235 and be in the game. Of course, I can't forget the 56 at the Gabba in January 2021. It was a special knock for me because when you get hit so many times, to still be able in the middle. It was a different motivation altogether to win that Test and series, to keep fighting against such a good bowling lineup. The circumstances weren't favourable for the batsmen. So you had to fight your way out.”
The two sides will once again be locking horns in a highly anticipated Test series, which starts on February 9 in Nagpur. Pujara will once again hold key as India can't avail the services of Rishabh Pant, Ajinkya Rahane, and Jasprit Bumrah.
Pant is still recovering from his horrific car crash and is expected to miss a good amount of cricket, while Bumrah is yet to gain full recovery from his back injury. Rahane, who led India to the famous win in 2020-21, has not been considered and it'll be interesting to see the young batters to shoulder the middle-order responsibility, especially against a challenging Australian attack.
