For 80 balls Cheteshwar Pujara gritted it out in typical style at Basin Reserve, dodging everything that came his way. Having accumulated just 11 runs in that dogged stay, the India batsman proceeded to throw it all away in a moment of madness in the final ball before tea on Day Three.
Shouldering arms to a full and inswinging delivery from New Zealand pace spearhead Trent Boult, Pujara could only stare in disbelief as the ball rattled his stumps. While it was a good delivery from Boult, it wasn’t exactly a ripper.
But that is the risk Pujara’s attritional style of batting always carries. It takes just the one strong delivery to end an innings that has been built painstakingly with the most admirable patience. And when the end result from that long blocking marathon is a mere 11 runs, it doesn’t really do much to help the team’s cause nor Pujara’s own statistics.
There is no denying that the 32-year-old is one of the finest Test batsmen of this generation when on song, and he has clearly played a vital role in India’s ascendancy to the No1 ranking. However, for a player of his calibre, his output in foreign conditions do leave a lot to be desired.
With his twin scores of 11 in the Wellington Test, Pujara’s overseas numbers have taken a further beating. While he does average nearly 60 in India’s own backyards, the stalwart is now averaging a pretty middling 38.18 overseas.
When one takes into account that Pujara’s average in four Tests in Sri Lanka is greater than 90, then his overall overseas numbers start to look even more unflattering. Bar one sensational tour of Australia in 2018-19 and a handful of other innings, the Saurashtra man has looked like a passenger for the most part when India have travelled abroad.
Cheteshwar Pujara in Test Cricket:
— Rohit Sharma™ (@Ro45FC_) February 23, 2020
In Asia:
Average - 62.30
100s - 13
Outside Asia:
Average - 33.40
100s - 5
The difference is 28.90. It's a huge for player like Pujara.#NZvIND pic.twitter.com/cnFcVPqFFA
It is worth noting that his record is particularly poor in countries where the red-ball swings more than usual. His record in England after nine Tests is 500 runs at an average of 29.41. When it comes to his record in South Africa, he has aggregated 411 runs at an average of 31.62. His record in the West Indies is particularly poor with five Test appearances yielding a measly 122 runs at an average of 20.33.
With his latest display in Wellington, Pujara is averaging only 13.66 in New Zealand after three Test appearances. For a man who has made it a habit of churning out the big scores at the domestic first-class level as well as Tests in India’s home conditions, these ordinary returns in England, South Africa, West Indies and New Zealand are quite disappointing.
Their penchant for playing the big innings meant that comparisons between Pujara and Dravid have always been frequent ever since the former entered the international arena in 2010. While it might be unfair to be constantly compared to one of the greatest No3 batsmen in the world, let alone India, has ever seen, Pujara falls some way short of Dravid’s overseas record.
For beginners, Dravid averaged (53.03) more in overseas conditions that he did in India (51.36). While the two players have similar records in South Africa, Dravid puts Pujara to shame with his displays in other countries. In fact, he averages over 60 with the bat in New Zealand, England and the West Indies – three countries where Pujara has particularly struggled.
Their batting styles are similar in many ways, and as such, the comparisons have been inevitable. But where Dravid succeeded and Pujara failed, is the ability to put the bad ball away for a boundary despite the tough overseas conditions. While Pujara can soak up a lot of pressure with his resoluteness and patience, he does have a habit of going into his shell and blocking everything that comes his way. This mindset has proven to be his shortcoming in the aforementioned overseas tours and is what separates him from the greats such as Dravid.
At 32, Pujara is probably heading into the final phase of his Test career and he won’t get many more opportunities to improve on his overseas record. Whether he has it in him to spark a turnaround in the final Test in Christchurch is a big question mark based on his past exploits.
