Pujara’s scores in his last six innings in Test cricket before the England tour were 4, 0, 19, 50, 1 and 35 . He was left out of the first Test at Edgbaston owing to his poor recent form, and not many runs playing for Yorkshire, where he got 23, 17, 0 and 32 from four innings.
However, after an unfortunate run out for 1 and being bowled off an in-swinging delivery at Lord’s for 17 and then scoring 14 in the first innings in Nottingham, Pujara managed to turn his fortunes around in the second innings, scoring a timely 72 off 208 balls and sharing in a 113-run partnership with Virat Kohli to help India gain a strong foothold in the Test.
“I think I was always confident, although I didn’t play on challenging pitches in county cricket. I always felt that I was batting well, especially in the nets – the way I was timing the ball, I was very confident that I was up for a big one,” Pujara said after the third day.
“The way I batted in this innings, I felt that whatever I was working on in the nets came along and I am really pleased to score those valuable 72 runs for the team.”
With most Indian batsmen not among the runs coming into the Test, which is a must-win for India to keep the series alive, the onus was on the batting unit to stand up to the challenge and for Pujara, one of the lynchpins, it was about trusting his technique.
“I think you just need to trust your technique, your temperament and be confident about how you know to play in such conditions. Playing county cricket did help me. I have learnt a lot, although I didn’t score many runs but the kind of time I spent here in the last few years has helped me deal with such conditions,” he said.
Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings survive and the target is under 500! England are 23/0 and need 498 to win.
“Ultimately, wherever you go, especially for us Indian batsmen when we play away from home, whether it is England, Australia, South Africa or New Zealand, I think we just need to trust our technique. Everyone has a different technique and a way to play, and we should play the way we know.”
Was there any pressure on him after a string of low scores? “Yes, to be honest, there is always some pressure, especially when you haven’t scored too many runs and even as a team, a batting unit, before this Test match we did not score too many runs,” he admitted.
In both innings we got 50 runs without losing any wickets, which is always important for the team
“So it was important that our top-order starts scoring runs. The way our openers batted in the first and second innings, I think a lot of credit goes to them because sometimes it is not about scoring big fifties or hundreds but even if they get 30 or 40 runs, it is quite valuable for the team. I think in both innings we got 50 runs without losing any wickets, which is always important for the team,” Pujara added, hailing opening batsmen Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul, who added 60 runs for the first wicket in each innings of the Test.
Even as India went about their batting, getting a 520-run lead in the second innings and scoring in excess of 300 runs in both innings for the first time in the series, James Anderson, the premier England fast bowler, did give India some trouble with his immaculate consistency and precision. Pujara admitted that although facing Anderson is always difficult, his past experiences against the pacer helped him cope.
“Facing him in 2014 in similar conditions has helped me, because I knew what areas he bowls in and what should be my game plan. So I was very clear with my game plan and what I wanted to do,” Pujara said.
“He is a great bowler and it’s always challenging to bat against him, but the way we had our partnership in the first session, we knew what we wanted to do and enjoyed having a partnership in the first session where they bowled really well.”
