Making runs in Australia was a box Cheteshwar Pujara had to tick. He has done so now.
The bitter memories of the Test series down under in 2014-15 when he was dropped towards the end of the series are behind this tenacious batsman.
“I learnt a lot from that tour. It has helped me score hundreds this time,” said Pujara after his second century of the series.
He added, “It has been a good tour personally. Scoring runs away from home always gives you happiness, more so in a winning cause. The series is 1-1 and everyone knows that the result of this Test is very important. We have enough runs on the board.”
READ: Pujara slams ton, gets into record books
Asked whether his innings here had silenced his critics, Pujara said, “When I play international cricket, I don’t need to silence anyone. And I will keep scoring runs, whether it is home or away. Sometimes you do get criticised and you just have to accept it.”
He admitted it was hard to score runs on the pitch here but was happy that the surface had already began deteriorating.” As we saw today pitch has started playing up and has variable bounce. The bowlers will benefit from it.”
Pujara said he was hit on his fingers three or four times because the ball rose from back of a length. “It is a challenging pitch,” he said.
On the treatment Virat Kohli received for his back while batting, he said, “I don’t think it’s serious we were just having a chat. We just wanted that partnership to carry on, and he batted on.”
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Pujara singled out Pat Cummins for praise in the Australian attack. “He is a fantastic bowler. Bowling cross seam is helping him.”
Australian opener Aaron Finch said, “"This is not your traditional Australian wicket where you have three slips and a gully all day and you bang away and the ball seams and carries like we saw in Perth where a lot of dismissals were behind the wicket.”
He was appreciative of the effort put in by the Australian bowlers particularly Pat Cummins and Mitchell Marsh.
On the return of Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, Finch said, “Cameron's two days away from being back to Perth Scorchers. And in the next three months when Davey and Steve are ready to be allowed to come back and play for Australia and their States. From my point of view they'll be welcomed back with open arms. Whatever has happened has happened, the punishment's been dealt with, and they've been working really hard.”
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