Winning Any Test In England Is Special, Says Cheteshwar Pujara After India's Thrilling Victory At Lord's
Published - 17 Aug 2021, 03:57 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:51 AM
After India defeated England in the 2nd Test of the ongoing Test series at Lord’s, Indian player Cheteshwar Pujara said that winning any Test on English soil is special. The Virat Kohli and boys crushed England batsmen to just 120 in the 2nd innings against a target of 272 runs. Cheteshwar Pujara was dismissed for just 9 runs in the 1st innings but returned with a knock of crucial 45 runs in the 2nd innings.
The right-handed batsman also slammed a crucial 100-run partnership with Ajinkya Rahane for the 4th wicket in the 2nd innings, which helped India to emerge out of the tense situation after losing 3 quick wickets at the start. KL Rahul (5), Rohit Sharma (21), and Virat Kohli (20) lost their wickets cheaply against a tough bowling attack by England.
Winning Any Test In England Is Special, Says Cheteshwar Pujara
In a video posted on BCCI.tv, Cheteshwar Pujara called the victory at Lord’s a special one. The 33-year-old was proud of the way his team played in the match.
“It is a great feeling, winning any Test in England is special. We had our chances in the first Test, but we won this one, we are really proud of how we played in this Test. It was a team effort, everyone contributed. It is a great start to the series, but there is a lot to play for. We are really proud of how we played in the first two Tests,” Pujara said in the video.
Speaking about his 100-run stand with Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara said that he focussed to stay on the crease.
“The most important thing was to stay at the crease and see out good spells, we knew it would be easy to bat when the ball gets soft,” the middle-order Test batsman further said.
While England managed to outplay India in the 1st innings gaining a 27-run lead, India bounced back in the 2nd innings. Firstly, pacers Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah smacked an 89-run stand for the 9th wicket in the 2nd innings, assisting India to put up a 272-run target for England with over 60 overs to go on Day 5.
Later, Indian pacers Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, and Jasprit Bumrah crushed England to just 120, clinching the victory by 151 runs. While there are many brilliant performers in the match from both sides, India’s KL Rahul was adjudged player of the match for his astonishing 129-run knock in the 1st innings.