Matthew Hayden lavished rich praise on Cheteshwar Pujara for his memorable performance that paved the way towards India's historic maiden Test series triumph in Australia. 

The exceptional No.3 tallied 521 runs at an astonishing average of 74.43 with three outstanding tons in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and was later awarded "Player-of-the-Series" for it. 

"I loved the way (Pujara) went about his cricket. That sort of tenacious batting almost died with the Allan Border era in this country, and that’s no disrespect to that era – they based their game on defence," Hayden was quoted saying by cricket.com.au. 

"Our era was kind of born out of that, and people forget that. Most of the players in our generation, whilst considered to be very attacking players, actually had outstanding defensive games."

Even Pujara was absolutely delighted with the recognition and appreciation that he received at the time, as he said, "It's a great feeling for all of us. We've been working really hard to win a series overseas. And especially doing it in this country, it's never easy." 

"The first hundred was special, scoring it in Adelaide and going 1-0 up is something which we were all aiming for. When you do that, there's a good chance of winning the series. So that hundred was special."

"As a batsman, you just need to get used to pace and bounce. Playing in different conditions, in South Africa, in England, in county cricket has helped me improve my technique. For me, it's about the right preparation."