Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli combined to frustrate Australia for an entire session as India held the whip-hand at 215 for two at the close of a grinding opening day of the third Test in Melbourne on Wednesday.
'He is like a pillar and the whole team bats around him.' 'In today's world, everyone likes to play their strokes while Pujara is someone who will tire out the bowlers.' 'If you have one batsman who can play out the new ball or play out a spell from a good bowler, then it helps the whole team, it helps the other batsmen.'
Cheteshwar Pujara, who is in the form of his life, says he has not made any change in his technique but the intent has surely changed on the advice of head coach Anil Kumble.
A day after India announced their squad for the all-important tour of South Africa, former spinner Harbhajan Singh on Friday questioned Yuzvendra Chahal's selection for the tour, and said that they gave him a "lollypop to suck on."
Pujara and Vijay added 209 runs for the second wicket to set a platform from where India would look to bat the Islanders out of the contest.
'See, he (Kohli) is a kind of player who performs well in all the formats of the game and the way he started off, if there was some other batsmen, I don't think they could have started in the same way. I think it's his confidence and way he is batting, in last two to three years, it would have been difficult for any other batsman to score at such a strike rate'
Like the billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Gautam Gambhir, the tenacious former opener-turned-coach, also seems to be governed by instincts while picking unheralded players and turning them into match-winners, points out Vishal Menon.
Vihari, Gill and Iyer have all played Tests for India in the absence of regular players and Rohit said a decision on the composition of the side against Sri Lanka was yet to be made.
India's middle-order mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara scored his last half-century six innings ago but the Saurashtra batsman is 'not too worried' about his own form, saying he is happy as long as he is contributing in the team's success.
Cheteshwar Pujara is confident that his scoring touch will return in the upcoming Test series against Australia in Adelaide.
Swann said he benefitted from legendary Shane Warne's advice on how to play on spin-friendly Indian wickets.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli thwarted Australia in a diligent partnership to push India to a position of strength and a 166-run lead at the close of day three of the first Test.
Captain Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara made centuries and shared a stand of 226 to put India on course for a big first-innings total against England on the first day of the second Test on Thursday. - Scorecard: Kohli was unbeaten on 151 and Ravichandran Ashwin on one as India reached 317 for four at the close after winning the toss in the first ever Test match in the port city of Visakhapatnam.
ndian team management confirmed that the forearm injury sustained by Cheteshwar Pujara is not very serious and he will be able to bat during India's second innings.
"I would like those who are not playing IPL, especially Pujara, to go and play county cricket in England. He would encounter different types of wickets especially in April and May which will give good experience and exposure," Azhar said.
After helping Saurashtra win their maiden Ranji Trophy title last month, little did he know that he would be spending all his time at home. Pujara is enjoying the 'forced' break and most of his time goes into entertaining his two-year-old daughter.
The BCCI is trying to work out the logistics to smoothly transfer the squad from one bio-bubble in the UAE to another in Australia where they might have to go for a two-week quarantine unless the rules are relaxed.
Cheteshwar Pujara, who scored his maiden Test double century in India's mammoth first innings total against England, has said that missing out on a hundred in the warm-up game inspired him to score big in the first Test in Ahmedabad.
Cheteshwar Pujara, who was among the top-order batsmen who failed to click in the five-Test series against England, has turned his attention to Derbyshire to find form.
Back in the squad for the Test series against New Zealand, Cheteshwar Pujara is determined to perform and contribute to India's winning cause.
An unbeaten 162 by the opener saw the India under-19 side score 283 for 2 on day 1 in the third 'Test' against their England counterparts.
India captain Rohit Sharma including mainstays Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja have placed in the highest category of BCCI central contracts.
With the world celebrating International Yoga Day, current and former Indian cricketers shared their favourite asanas.
India 'A' captain Cheteshwar Pujara asserted that there are no technical flaws in his game and his stint with English county side Yorkshire has prepared him mentally for the demands of the modern day cricket.
Pujara stood tall in a defiant 47 off 102 balls even as Sri Lanka pacers made full use of the overcast conditions to run through the Indian batting line-up.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane hit unbeaten centuries to power India to 344 for three against Sri Lanka on Day 1 of the second Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, on Thursday.
India's dependable No 3 landed and scored 162 for MRC against Crombest Club giving another example of his commitment towards the game irrespective of the level of competition.
The 30-year-old notched up his 16th hundred in his 65th Test at the Adelaide Oval, reaching the 5000-mark landmark in 108 innings, the same as the legendary Rahul Dravid, who made the No 3 slot his own.
While the spinners stole the limelight in India's convincing victory in the first Test against South Africa in Mohali, one cannot forget the key contribution made by Cheteshwar Pujara with the bat, especially in the second innings when batting had become really difficult.
Pujara, who had a base price of Rs 50 lakh went unsold at the IPL auctions in February.
During his patient knock, Pujara faced 250 balls, hitting 16 of them for fours, and added 75 runs for the unbeaten fifth wicket stand with Vihari.
India's chief coach Ravi Shastri feels that Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara should remain in the top bracket when the Board of Control for Cricket in India and Committee of Administrators (COA) thrash out the revised central contracts based on the new remuneration structure.
Chesteshwar Pujara displayed his appetite for a big score with a superlative unbeaten 256 as India Blue piled up a mammoth 693 for six in their bid to outbat the Reds on the second day of the Duleep Trophy final.
Under pressure to retain his place in the Test XI, Cheteshwar Pujara overshadowed Rohit Sharma by scoring a solid hundred as India Blue made full use of a placid track to amass 362/3 against India Red on the first day of the Duleep Trophy final in Greater Noida.
Shubman Gill, silenced his doubters with a noteworthy performance in the recent Test series against England.
Cheteshwar Pujara said that although England bowled a "negative" line during his partnership with skipper Virat Kohli, his team showed a lot of character and would be looking to take 75-100 runs lead in the first innings of the third Test in Mohali.
As India's marathon 13-Test home season draws to a close after the fourth and deciding match against Australia in Dharamsala later this week, captain Virat Kohli gave a ringing endorsement of Pujara's worth in the longest format.
Summary of all Ranji Trophy matches played on Saturday
Cheteshwar Pujara's marathon double hundred complemented by Wriddhiman Saha's dogged century put India in complete command with an imposing total of 603 for 9 against Australia on the fourth day of the third cricket Test.
Cheteshwar Pujara completed his 39th class hundred on his home debut for Nottinghamshire in the County Championship Division Two, in Nottingham, on Friday.
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