He might have batted at a strike-rate of 26.88 and hit only two boundaries in his knock, but India batsman Cheteshwar Pujara doesn’t feel that he batted too slowly during the opening day of the first Test against Australia at the Adelaide Oval.

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Pujara, who scored 43 off 160 balls in India’s 233/6 at stumps on Day 1, believes that a first innings total of 350 would be very handy for the visitors.

“Not at all. We were in a very good position in the first two sessions,” Pujara told reporters, defending the 41 scored by the team in the first session and 66 runs that were scored in the second.

“We needed to make sure that we don’t lose wickets when the ball is swinging. It was a great day of Test cricket and there are no regrets at all about the strategy. We couldn’t have lost more wickets playing shots and getting bowled in a day,” he added.

Talking about his approach, India’s No. 3 said the wicket wasn’t conducive for stroke-play.

“Test cricket needs patience. If the wicket is flat, then you can be aggressive but when it’s helping the bowlers, you can’t play a lot of shots.

“In overseas conditions, you don’t want a total of less than 200 runs (in first innings). In the first two sessions, the bowlers are fresh and the pitch is fresh,” he remarked.

According to Pujara, the match is evenly poised but he conceded that skipper Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane’s dismissal will surely provide a “little bit of advantage” to Australia.

Nathan Lyon ended Pujara’s knock during the post-dinner break and the latter heaped rich praise on Australian off-spinner for his remarkable transformation into a world-class bowler.

“He gets a lot of revs (revolutions) on the ball. His line and length have really improved. He likes taking the challenge and while facing him, you also need to be prepared to face that challenge,” Pujara stated.

(With PTI inputs)