He is still batting in the nightmares of Australian fast bowlers. Cheteshwar Pujara's exploits during the recently concluded Border Gavaskar Trophy will forever remain fresh in the memories of Indian cricket lovers.
And the euphoria of his three outstanding tons in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney as well as India's historic maiden Test series triumph down under hasn't sunk in yet either.
"It was a special series for me personally as well as the team," Pujara told Times of India, "All the players said that this is the most special overseas win. We have a young team and none of the team members had the experience of winning an overseas Test series. But we want to get better and stay at No.1. We don't want to get carried away."
While all the focus was on the might of Indian captain Virat Kohli, Pujara aggregated 521 runs across his seven innings at an astonishing average of 74.43. He was later awarded "Player-of-the-series" as well.
"Everything changed after the first innings (in Adelaide). Whenever you go for a big tour, preparation is important. I prepared very well. Then I just tried to execute my skills and I knew what the bowlers could do because I had been there in 2014," he added.
"I had faced Lyon, Starc and Hazlewood in 2014. Cummins was the only new addition to their bowling lineup. But I had faced him in India in 2017 too. I knew their strategies and what line and length they would bowl."
"I just wanted to bat normally. We were in deep trouble in the first Test when we were 40 for 4. I thought something special is needed to win this Test and I knew that I just had to bat through the first two sessions and didn't think about anything else."
"And when we lost Ashwin, I thought that I would have to accelerate at some point since I was batting with tailenders. I was really pleased with the kind of shots that I played."
Ever since he was dropped from the Test side at Edgbaston, Pujara has been intent on batting positively. He struck a great hundred in Southampton and followed that up with a legendary series in Australia.
And it is down to a better approach at the crease as well as technical enhancements in his batting, something he also admitted.
"The situation demanded that. When you are batting with the tail, you always have to play your shots," Pujara emphasized, "There is a perception about me that I don't play too many shots, but I try and not play them until the situation demands."
"Not my grip, but some changes to my stance and some other things. I don't want to talk about them because bowlers will prepare accordingly and plan."
