India’s Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara’s slow approach might have not impressed many on Day 1 of the ongoing first Day-Night Test against Australia, but Pragyan Ojha feels the veteran was fair and just doing his job with the bat for the tourists at Adelaide Oval.
After the top-order failure, Pujara came to bat and batted too patiently to be able to stay on the crease as possible as he could and save wickets for India before being eventually dismissed by spinner Nathan Lyon for 43 runs of 160 deliveries during India’s batting On Thursday.
His knock was too slow for many as the right-hander smashed the first boundary of his innings off 148th delivery in Adelaide.
Pujara first batted with Mayank Agarwal and then captain Virat Kohli to help India build their innings when the Australia pacers were bowling with fierce pace and swing on Day 1 of the D/N Test match.
Well, Ojha, former Indian spinner, has backed Pujara’s slow approach while saying the Gujarat batsman was doing what he has always done for Team India in Test cricket.
Ojha said on Sports Today on Friday: “I think Pujara was just doing what he is supposed to do. He knows how to play and he was just setting it up (for India).”
Meanwhile, the former spinner also believes that the hosts have done great homework against Indian batsmen as they bowled extremely well to finish their first innings at 244.
He concluded, “They (Australian bowlers) were brilliant, the bounce was not much. A few catches did not go to the fielders. But the bowlers were brilliant and were bowling in one corridor. They were just trying to make sure that every ball they bowled was on the off-stump or the 4th stump. That is disciplined bowling.”
(With India Today Inputs)
