IND vs SA: Cheteshwar Pujara happy to hit form – Cheteshwar Pujara finally brushed aside the “noise” of dropping him from the side with a gutsy half-century against South Africa in the 2nd innings of the 2nd Test in Johannesburg. He said the team management and the captain Virat Kohli always had his back despite going eight innings without managing a fifty. Follow India vs South Africa Live Updates on InsideSport.IN.
Pujara along with Ajinkya Rahane stitched a 111-run stand for the third wicket and helped India extend their lead on Wednesday. Both batters were going through a lean patch but ended up hitting crucial fifties on Day Three of the second Test.
IND vs SA: Cheteshwar Pujara happy to hit form, says ‘Management and captain always backed me’
“Management and Captain has been so supportive over the years, rest all are outside noises. And I’m following the process and hoping I can continue this performance,” Cheteshwar Pujara said at the virtual press conference at the end of Day 3 in Johannesburg.
While others found it difficult with the variable bounce on the pitch, Cheteshwar Pujara came out to bat with an aggressive approach. He scored at over an 80 strike rate. Of late with his struggles, he has batted more defensively.
IND vs SA: Cheteshwar Pujara happy to hit form, says ‘Management and captain always backed me’
“This pitch has variable bounce and it’s not easy whenever you get a variable bounce, you put it away because you never know when you will get an unplayable ball. It was a part of my game, that if get a loose ball I’ll try and convert it,” Cheteshwar Pujara said.
3⃣2⃣nd Test FIFTY for @cheteshwar1! 👏 👏
A solid counter-attacking knock from the #TeamIndia batter 👊
India are 137/2 and now lead by 110 runs. #SAvIND
Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/b3aaGXmBg9 pic.twitter.com/5C1l5j77pv
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 5, 2022
“But I didn’t do anything extra, I have been batting well and it was one of those days when everything went as per my plan. Overall really happy with the way things went and I think my partnership with Ajinkya was very crucial, given that we were at a stage where we wanted some runs for the team,” Cheteshwar Pujara added.
IND vs SA: Cheteshwar Pujara happy to hit form, says ‘Management and captain always backed me’
South Africa need 122 runs to win the second Test against India with six sessions left in the match here. Pujara is confident that India will seal the match on Thursday despite not picking “many” wickets on Day Three.
“Whenever you have some runs on the board it always helps, if you look at this game it has been a challenging pitch but we have runs on the board, so the game is still very balanced. We haven’t picked up too many wickets today but we are confident that we’ll have more chances tomorrow,” said Cheteshwar Pujara.
South Africa folded India for 266 in the second innings and then got to a decent start as their score read 118/2 at the Stumps on Wednesday. South Africa started the chase cautiously as skipper Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram survived a tricky phase before Tea on Day Three.
IND vs SA: Cheteshwar Pujara happy to hit form, says ‘Management and captain always backed me’
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