I Am Confident About My Batting: Cheteshwar Pujara

Amid raging criticism about his approach to batting in the first innings of the ongoing Sydney Test, Indian No.3 Cheteshwar Pujara has said that needs to bat in the manner he knows best besides heaping high praise on Pat Cummins for dismissing him on what he termed as an ‘unplayable delivery’.

Pujara registered his slowest Test fifty during India’s first innings at the Sydney Cricket Ground and even though he finished as the joint-highest scorer for his team, he has come under criticism for batting slowly with the likes of Allan Border and Ricky Ponting questioning his approach.

Pujara took 101 balls to score his first boundary and even though he showed signs of intent when he stroked as many as three boundaries in his next 16 deliveries, he was unable to convert his start into a daddy hundred thanks to yet another peach of a delivery by Pat Cummins.

The Indian No.3, who has now been dismissed by Pat Cummins in four out of five innings, lavished high praise on the Australian, stating that he has bowled quite a number of unplayable deliveries to him this summer.

“We are trying our best, but sometimes Pat Cummins has a better idea, sometimes he has bowled some of the unplayable deliveries, for example, the ball which I got, if there was any other batter, I felt that was the best ball of this series, sometimes you have to accept it, we are trying our best as a batting unit. It is not just about him, it is important to bat well as a unit,” said Pujara while replying to an ANI query during the virtual press conference.

“I have got out against him four times but some of them were really good balls, we need to respect that, overall I am confident about my batting, I would rather focus on the things I need to as a batsman rather than put too much pressure on him getting me out. The way I was batting today, I was really confident. The way I got out today, I have to accept that. I could not have done anything better, I would rather focus on the things I need to do as a batsman. I just have to bat in the manner I know to bat, even as a batting unit, you need to build partnerships and bat well as a unit,” he added.

Also Read: Cheteshwar Pujara Is Playing To Survive Than To Score Runs: Allan Border