Ponting also said that Pujara's approach put more pressure on other Indian batsmen and the right-handed batsman needs to be wary of this fact
'I am sure there is enough time for us to prepare and guys are looking forward to this series. This is the best opportunity for us to win our first series in South Africa. So all of us are looking forward to it.'
Here are some of the memorable celebratory moments...
There is a possibility that India might play three pacers in the pink-ball Test.
Kohli, who made 0 and 62 in Chennai, stayed in fifth spot among batsmen with 838 points. Kane Williamson (919) of New Zealand retained the top position with Steve Smith (891) of Australia in second spot.
Ravichandran Ashwin, who was left out of the first Test, is back in the mix as Shardul Thakur seems to have done his hamstring some damage during the training session at Lord's on Monday.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI in the first Test against England, starting on Wednesday?
Former India fielding coach R Sridhar reflected on the ups and downs of his seven-year tenure.
Images from Day 1 of the second Test between Australia and India, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, on Saturday.
Pacer Ollie Robinson destroyed India's batting line-up with a five-wicket haul to power England to a huge victory by an innings and 76 runs, on Day 4 of the third Test, at Leeds on Saturday.
Pacer Craig Overton says England still hold all the aces going into Day 4 of the third Test against India, at Headingley, Leeds, on Saturday.
Images from Day 1 of the fourth Test between England and India, at The Oval, on Thursday.
Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow put England on course for a ground-breaking run chase against India despite Jasprit Bumrah's brilliance on day four of the rescheduled fifth Test, setting up a fitting series finale in Birmingham on Monday.
Cheteshwar Pujara's reputation as a Test specialist had hampered his IPL prospects for last few years but India's No 3 is now ready to turn the corner for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2021, having picked up cues from the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
Like all cricketers, Krunal had been confined to his house in Vadodara since March 25, when the centre enforced a nationwide lockdown to curb the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.
'They have got tremendous depth in their squad, the big guns are back and they are a quality outfit under the leadership of Virat Kohli.'
In what comes as the biggest positive for Indian cricket in recent times, former captain Rahul Dravid has agreed to take over as the head coach of the men's team.
India's Shreyas Iyer once again dazzled on his debut Test, hitting his second 50-plus score of the match to put his team in charge of the opening Test against New Zealand on Sunday.
Virat Kohli's 'magnanimous' act during the 2021 T20 World Cup was among India's top three moments
Parthiv Patel gave his views on on what the World Test Championship title would mean for Virat Kohli.
"I know the importance of opening the innings. I am glad I could make it count. It's always important to embrace the challenge, it's not going to be easy. Back in Durham we had time off to look at our training and technique and after the World Test Championship final we had 20-25 days, that was a real game-changer."
The best-selling author was all of us :))) at the Virushka reception.
In the end, it turned out to be a nightmare with dark clouds hovering over the future of this Indian team and no sign of 'VIBGYOR' in the Rainbow Nation.
Centurion is situated 1300 metres above sea level, which means a higher altitude where bowlers can get tired quickly and in case of four bowlers, there remains a possibility of them getting tired.
Rohit Sharma has overtaken captain Virat Kohli to become the top-ranked Test batsman from India.
Natarajan was added to the Test squad for the remaining two Test matches against Australia on January 1.
According to Jaffer, Axar can leave his mark as English batsmen tend to struggle against left-arm spinners.
Images from Day 2 in the first Test between England and India, at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, on Thursday.
India's captain Virat Kohli will have to think overtime about the balance of his squad, with a long tail, often bushy with runs, and just two openers -- one untested (Rohit Sharma) but very capable and another supremely talented (KL Rahul) but highly reluctant starter.
Pujara's slowest Test half-century, a painstaking 50 off 176 balls handed Australia control of the match in which they now have overall lead of 197 runs.
Seniors like Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara came in for a lot of flak for their below-par showing with the bat, while Jasprit Bumrah also failed to live up to expectations.
'They came out with an attitude that they had nothing to lose.' 'That's what stands out about this team.'
Has the long due transition phase kicked in for India's Test team?
Cheteshwar Pujara has now scored 3 centuries in this series, equalling Sunil Gavaskar's record.
Batting coach Vikram Rathour on Saturday said that a first innings score of 250-plus will put India in a fighting position against New Zealand, keeping the prevailing conditions in Southampton in mind during the ICC World Test Championship final.
Rohit Sharma finally had his first stint of outdoor training after spending weeks indoors.
It was the biggest margin of victory by runs for India in a home match, eclipsing their 337-run win against South Africa in a Delhi Test in 2015.
India coach Rahul Dravid has indicated that the team management may take some tough selection decisions going forward and emphasised on the need to have clear communication with the players.
India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin struck three early blows to put the hosts on course for a series-clinching victory against New Zealand in the second and final Test at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
The 6'7" seam-bowling all-rounder's inclusion in Australia's line-up was expected after his impressive hundred in the first warm-up game against India A.
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