AUS v IND 2018-19: We were confident of winning the Test series Down Under, says Cheteshwar Pujara

Pujara scored three hundreds during the four-match Test series in Australia.

Pujara garnered praise from all quarters for his heroics in Australia | Getty

Cheteshwar Pujara played an instrumental role in India’s first-ever Test series triumph on Australian soil by scoring 521 runs at an average of 74.72. He notched up hundreds in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney to script twin victories for the visitors in the series. While India’s eminent No.3 scored 123 in the Test series opener, he struck 106 and 193 in the third and fourth Test respectively.

Australia’s pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood couldn’t able to suppress Pujara throughout the series as he ended up playing a record 1258 deliveries in the four Tests, surpassing Rahul Dravid's tally of 1203 balls in the 2003-04 series Down Under.

Reflecting on the historic tour, the Saurashtra batsman recently said Team India might be a bit nervous but was always confident of winning the series in Australia.

“Whenever you play overseas, it is not easy because the conditions are different. But we were confident in a way that we played well in South Africa, played well in England. We didn’t win the series but there were performances where we felt that we can win overseas. And that confidence was there. Personally I didn’t think I can score that many runs. I always believe in preparation and for me it was about that than the number of centuries I want to score. It just happens. Whenever you’re well prepared and the situation arises, you know how to play in that situation. Before the series started, we were nervous but confident that we can win the series in Australia,” Pujara told The Indian Express.

For his stupendous effort, Pujara was deservedly adjudged Man-of-the-Series. After lifting the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the 30-year-old was also made to dance by his teammates.

Talking about that forced dance move, Pujara said: “Winning in Australia was a special feeling. Rishabh came up with a dance and it wasn’t meant for me. I am not a good dancer and everyone made fun of me. For me important was that we won in Australia.”

After his masterful ton in the fourth Test in Sydney, Pujara was hailed for his patience by the legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Shane Warne, Kevin Pietersen, Kumar Sangakkara among others. He had continuously frustrated the Australian bowlers with solid defence and staunch approach.

Sharing the importance of being patience, Pujara said: “I think in the third Test against South Africa, at Johannesburg, I made sure we don’t lose wickets early on. If I was to get beaten, I had to maintain distance. When I was playing 30-40 dot balls, there was pressure. But the most important thing when you’re playing Test cricket is to be patient. It is important to handle pressure and then capitalise later when bowlers tire down and pitch settles down. I think my first run was after 40 balls and I knew it would eventually help the team.”

When asked to name the toughest bowler he has faced as yet, Pujara remarked: “I remember facing Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel at their peak. I had a tough time and didn’t know what to do. Conditions were new to me and had no clue what to do. I came back home and worked on my backfoot and put in effort to learn. So next time we toured South Africa, that fear factor was gone.”

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 22 Jan, 2019

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