Cheteshwar Pujara has set a high standard for himself because of his batsmanship and his numbers in the Test and domestic arena. Despite having gone without a hundred in his last eight innings, Pujara averages 46.84 in Tests. He batted for over an hour in the first Test against West Indies before getting out to Devendra Bishoo for 16. But India's number three is toiling hard in the nets to get a big score soon. He batted in the optional nets session in Kingston on Thursday, ahead of India's second Test against West Indies.
"I want to practice more since I didn't score much in the first Test. It's upto an individual whethere they want to take a break or practice and I am someone who wants to practice," he said during a media interaction.
Excerpts from the media interaction:-
On failing to convert starts: I've been batting well. Even in the South African series there have been good contributions on challenging wickets. At times, you have to be realistic and see if you're contributing [to the team] rather than worrying about big hundreds or double hundreds. At the same time, I realise I played a bad shot in the last Test when I was looking good. I did work hard in the first session when the ball was moving.
On the pitch: I haven't played on the wicket yet. So, it's difficult to predict the kind of wicket. And, we aren't too worried about the wicket. If we play to our potential, we have a good chance of winning.
On practcing on Thursday's optional nets session: I want to practice more since I didn't score much in the first Test. It's upto an individual whethere they want to take a break or practice and I am someone who wants to practice.
On partnerships in the first Test: There have been a lot of partnerships in the last Test match, especially from the lower-order. (Ravichandran) Ashwin batted well, Amit Mishra batted well.
On Alzarri Joseph : As far as I've heard, he's done well in the under-19 level. But I haven't seen much of him. I don't know if he'll play in the final eleven or not but we'll have to figure out. He's a new guy, talented, so we'll be doing some video analysis of his bowling.
On catching in the slips: It's important to take as many catches as possible when you practice. You should know your partners (in the slips) well. You need to have the right distance in between. It's about the right judgement and communication.
On Anil Kumble: He's been positive about the way I've batted in the past and the way I've been batting.
On dressing room atmosphere: The dressing room atmosphere has always been good. There are a lot of youngsters in the team. We know each other well. We've been toogether starting from under-19 to India A. And there are team bonding sessions where we get to know each and every player.
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