Former Pakistan captain and veteran batter Salman Butt noticed a pattern in Cheteshwar Pujara’s batting as he believes that the veteran Indian batter plays positive and his shot when he is under pressure after his second innings performance against South Africa in Johannesburg.
Pujara was dismissed for 3 in the first innings, but managed a much-improved performance with the bat in the second innings, scoring 53 runs on day three of the ongoing second Test against South Africa in Johannesburg.
Butt said on his YouTube channel: “I noticed this one thing (about Pujara). He was under pressure in the England tour as well and he played a very positive innings, similar to the one he played today. Whenever he is under pressure, he plays positive and plays his shot. I don't understand why he goes back into his blocking mode then. He needs to think about his approach.”
He further said that Pujara tends to play “freely” when there is significant pressure on him to perform.
Butt added, “Whenever he is under pressure, he starts playing freely. When there are fears that he might be dropped from the XI, he starts playing his shots. He gets the crucial runs with a good tempo.”
He continued, “You saw that in England as well, when he failed in 4-5 innings, he played an 80-90 run knock (91 in second innings in Leeds Test) at a decent strike rate. Even today when he was pushed against the wall and when there was uncertainty if he will play the next match or not, he scored at a very good strike rate. The moment the ball comes in his zone, he plays his shots.”
The Pakistan batter also urged Pujara to not go “back into his shell” and continue with the same approach while insisting there is no need to tweak his strategy.
Butt signed off by saying, “So, I don't know why he goes into a shell once he gets the runs. When you have the runs, keep that tempo, keep playing those shots! Maybe sometime, he will find out very soon that he has to play like this, he doesn't need to go back into his shell. He's looking good, he is presenting the full face of the bat because he is playing according to the pitch condition. If you play defensively on this pitch, you can get out at any time. Go for the runs.”
