Team India’s Mr. Dependable Cheteshwar Pujara, who scored a fighting half-century in unplayable Wanderers pitch on the opening day of the third and final Test against South Africa at Johannesburg on Wednesday, said that he was satisfied to get runs on ‘one of the toughest pitches he has played on.’ Electing to bat first, India were bowled out for 187 but Pujara asserted that it was a competitive first innings total.
“It is as good as scoring 300 on a normal pitch. It is certainly one of the toughest pitches I have batted on. It was much tougher than one used for the first Test in Cape Town,” Pujara said.
“Overall we batted well. The runs on the board are sufficient and we can bowl them out. There was a lot of deviation and the pitch was initially very slow, but there was enough bounce. There was a lot of lateral movement and a lot of deviation off the cracks.”
“Our bowlers are used to bowling good lengths. I am sure they will do the needful tomorrow. It is very difficult to survive on this wicket,” Pujara said after scoring 50 off 179 balls.
