Cheteshwar Pujara is one of the last of his breed; that rare batsman who defends in Test cricket to make as big an impact as a cover drive.
Batsmanship nowadays does not have a lot of space or patience for those who take their time. It is a testament to the times that we live in where a forward push is almost necessary in Test cricket while the ability to offer a dead bat to the quickest bowlers and ensure the ball doesn’t go beyond the pitch is not celebrated.
Intent is another word that is thrown around when judging the impact of a batsman in Test cricket. Attacking stroke-play looks good most of the time, until it doesn’t.
The Border Gavaskar Trophy was billed as Virat Kohli, the batsman versus Australia. Other 10 Indian players were expected to mark their attendance and get on with the job.
As we approach the end of the four-test series with India retaining the trophy and holding an unassailable 2-1 lead – and with more success likely in the ongoing Sydney Test – a player who up until recently had been dropped from the team has ended up proving to be the difference between the sides.
Pujara already has three centuries and a fifty in the series. Kohli has one apiece. Pujara’s runs tally of 458 is nearly 200 more than the next best – Kohli. While India’s pace attack thoroughly deserves credit for helping retain the trophy, Pujara’s resilience in a winning cause in Adelaide and Melbourne was the foundation on which India’s success was built.
In England earlier in the year, Pujara was dropped from the team. He has been dropped before as well; his lack of ‘intent’ while batting – read slow scoring rate – did not sit well with the Indian management. He was told as much in 2016 after which he ended up getting involved in six of the next eight run-outs.
Very happy for Pujara. Here is a player who knows his game inside out, is comfortable with who he is and how he plays and is just a simple, modest man. And that quality is a big part of his cricket.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) January 3, 2019
After his omission in England for the Edgbaston Test, Pujara has smashed four tons and three fifties at an average of just under 54. It is as much a statement to those who didn’t like his methods as much as it is a triumph of self belief when the going is tough.
When doubts creep in, it is very easy to lose focus and confidence in the aspects that make you who you are. Pujara couldn’t have remained immune to questions regarding his style and game, especially when it came from the senior management.
But as 2018 showed us, any India’s batsman – apart from Kohli – couldn’t be relied on to bail the team out.
Series were lost in South Africa and England. Australia was the last chance for the No1 Test team to taste some success on foreign soil. Credit, therefore, goes to Pujara for going with his instinct and sticking to his own game when most batsmen were not guaranteed to score runs.
In the ongoing Test series, Pujara has faced 1,135 balls scored at a strike rate of 40. India opener Mayank Agarwal has batted at 52 and young Rishabh Pant at 67.
It’s Pujara grind that has allowed the entire team to go about their business with certainty. It was Pujara who absorbed all the pressure during his marathon ton across two days in Melbourne that put India in a position from where they couldn’t lose.
In the Sydney Test, Pujara reached three figures on the opening day itself where he was hit on the head by a nasty bouncer. The pain would be bearable as it has come after doubts had been cast over his game and even position in the team.
If India do end up winning the series, Pujara needs to be the first to be congratulated. Because they don’t make ’em like Che anymore.
