IND vs AUS: Stop Riding A Luna And Get On A Harley Davidson- Ravi Shastri's No-Nonsense Verdict On Cheteshwar Pujara

Indian Cricket Team’s star batter Cheteshwar Pujara has received a lot of flak for his low strike rate. The right-handed batter has been pivotal to the team’s success in both home & overseas conditions, especially against Australia where he has frustrated the opposition.

Recently against Bangladesh Tests, Pujara played quite aggressively and was keen on rotating the strike. The management would be hoping that the batter continues his good run as this time Aussies would be well prepared as compared to the 2017 Test Series where they couldn’t capitalize on a 1-0 lead.

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R Sridhar on Cheteshwar Pujara & Ravi Shastri

Former Fielding Coach R Sridhar in his book, “Beyond Coaching” stated how the then Head Coach Ravi Shastri sent a message to Cheteshwar Pujara during India vs South Africa 1st Test Match 2019 2nd innings. “We were looking for quick runs in the second innings so that we could stick South Africa back in. Rohit Sharma, who had got a 100 in the first innings, was again flowing, but Pujara got stuck. At one stage he was 8 off 61 deliveries when Ravi decided he had seen enough. So he called one of the substitute fielders and instructed him to repeat his message to Pujara verbatim, ‘Stop riding a Luna and get on a Harley-Davidson’.” said R Sridhar.

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“There was a passage of play just after that where Pujara actually outscored Rohit. He had the capacity; it was important to ensure his thoughts were always aligned to that of the team and to make him realise that he had the tools to do so” he added.

Critical Series for India

There are chances that Aussies may play with 3 fast bowlers despite the pitch favoring the spinners. India has to be careful as last time Pat Cummins had created havoc by bowling effective spells. The skipper will have to use Cameron Green quite cautiously as the pacer has got good control over his line & length.

India has to win the Test Series by 3-1 or 3-0 to stake a claim in World Test Championship (WTC 2021-23) final. It won’t be wrong to say that every match is a do-or-die one for the hosts as Aussies have almost qualified for the WTC final where a solitary win will seal the spot.

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