Cheteshwar Pujara Was Ready To Take Those Blows, He Played His Role Sensationally - Shardul Thakur

Shardul Thakur lavished praise on ‘warrior’ Cheteshwar Pujara as the latter was peppered with body blows from the high-quality fast bowling of Australian fast bowlers on the fifth day of the Brisbane Test.

Pujara, who was the Man of the Series against Australia a couple of years ago, was once again a frequent sight on the pitch for the hosts and demanded the Aussie bowlers to bowl their best ball to dismiss him. He finished as the second-highest scorer for India – 271 runs with 3 fifties. It’s no surprise that Pujara faced most balls in the series(928) as he kept hold of one end often and let the other batsmen score freely.

Cheteshwar  Pujara batted like an absolute warrior: Shardul Thakur

For India to create history at the Gabba by chasing down the total, they needed to be in the game by the second session. Cheteshwar  Pujara, once again, provided solidity at his end, so that other batters – Ajinkya Rahane and Rishabh Pant – around him could play their shots.

To defend the team, and his wicket, he took a barrage of bouncers on his body. He just didn’t want to give away his wicket, be it at the cost of some broken bones. India’s number 3 was hit about a dozen times on different parts of his body. It looked ugly and nasty it was.

However, Shardul Thakur reveals the Indian dressing room had full confidence in the stoical ability of Pujara despite the Aussie pacers copping him blows everywhere on his body.

Pujara may not have notched up any century on this tour against Australia, however, his third half-century of the series at the Gabba was vital in India breaching the fortress and winning the series.

“I think Pujara batted like an absolute warrior. In the dressing room, even though he was getting hit, we never felt that he wasn’t confident. He was ready to take those blows. He was pretty solid in his defense. At times, he might have looked ugly while watching him on TV, but he played his role sensationally. He batted superbly. There was no sense of fear in us,” Shardul Thakur told the Times of India.

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