Cheteshwar Pujara Opens Up On His Christchurch Test Dismissal

Cheteshwar Pujara has admitted he regrets playing the pull shot that brought about his dismissal in the second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch. India had three batting collapses in the Test series in New Zealand which they lost 0-2, the most disappointing being the first innings of the second Test, where India, from 194/4, were bowled out for 242.

The Indian National cricket team suffered whitewash (0-2) in the two-match Test series during the tour of New Zealand.

On tracks which favoured seam-and-swing, the Indian batting-unit once again failed to come up with the goods, paving way for back-to-back collapses, and underwhelming first-innings total.

I still rue it: Cheteshwar Pujara

Though it isn’t a first time for India in overseas games, it was the 31-year-old’s uncharacteristic dismissal which caught attention.

Pujara played a reckless pull shot off Kyle Jamieson as the ball took the top edge and landed in BJ Watling’s gloves. It triggered the slide and India thwarted the advantage by losing six for 48.

“For me, the biggest regret is the shot that I played during the second Test where I tried to pull. I don’t usually. I never play that kind of a shot. It happened instinctively. I still rue it, I wonder how it happened. Once I am set, I never give my wicket away,” Pujara told Indian Express after Saurashtra lifted the Ranji Trophy for the first time.

Chesteshwar Pujara knows his job well:

There has been a lot of talk around Pujara’s strike-rate of-late. From Ian Chappell to skipper Virat Kohli, everyone has been raving about the ‘intent’ that he needs to show.

But the Indian No.3 isn’t fazed by all of this. He also highlighted a few of his knocks, which helped India seal the momentum.

“In the first innings, I took some 200-odd balls to score 60 something but my teammates and I knew how tough the wicket was. It was a final and there was a responsibility on my shoulders,” Cheteshwar Pujara said regarding his slow knock in Australia.

Well, it seems like Cheteshwar Pujara wants to perform similarly for India without any disturbances to his mindset.

As of now, he will be away from International cricket for a few months with no international schedule.