Cheteshwar Pujara didn’t have the best of starts to the India-Australia Test series, however, he played a crucial hand in Rahane & Co.’s inspiring draw in the third and penultimate Test. In addition, his 56 paved the way for India’s historic win in the fourth and final series-deciding Brisbane Test, by 3 wickets in pursuit of 328.
During the course of his knock, Pujara won hearts worldwide as he took several blows on his body, on a tricky surface on Day 5 in Brisbane. He, thus, did so to hold his end firmly so that other attacking batters — such as Shubman Gill (91) and Rishabh Pant (89*) — could score freely.
Reflecting back on his performance and taking several blows for the team’s cause, against Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, Pujara said, “There is a little bit of blood clot on the shoulder but it’s all settled, now. I have recovered well,” he was quoted as saying to NDTV.
He further opined, “You have all the protection when you are wearing the helmet. But the one I got hit on the finger was really painful. That was the toughest blow. I thought my finger was broken. I was first hit on my finger during the net session in Melbourne. I carried the niggle to Sydney. But when I was hit on the same finger in Brisbane, it was unbearable,” Pujara stated.
Though Pujara played a vital role in India’s second successive Test series win on Australian soil, he was troubled by their bowlers, who resorted to consistent line and lengths versus him. On the battle versus the Aussie pacers and spinner Nathan Lyon, Pujara said, “Credit goes to Australian bowlers. They study your batting, they assess a lot of videos and then they come up with a plan. To break that, you need a lot of patience, you need to figure out things to break such a game plan.”
