They blocked Cheteshwar's runs but couldn't get him out cheaply: Father

NAGPUR: On June 22 last year, Cheteshwar Pujara posted his picture on social media while getting ready to bat in the nets, much before the announcement of India's

Australia tour

. He doesn't feature in ODIs and T20Is for India. He doesn't have an IPL contract. At that point of time, he didn't know when he would play his next competitive match. All he wanted was to hear that sweet sound of willow.

When the schedule of Australia tour was announced,

Pujara

hadn't played a single match because of restriction due to lockdown. He just had nets at his academy in Targhadia, around 16 kms away from Rajkot. It was only after reaching Australia that the 32-year-old played a competitive match, his first after the Ranji Trophy final in March 2020.


Pujara's other teammates were fortunate to have played some (IPL) matches, even though in shorter formats. So it was a big challenge for him as there were huge expectations from him, especially after what he did in the last Australia tour when India won their maiden Test series Down Under in 2018-19.
While he couldn't replicate that performance, he was still good enough to help India record their second successive Test triumph in Australia. He played 928 deliveries in the series, 78 more than Marnus Labuschagne, the next best. The right-hander took a series of blows on his body throughout the series but nothing could deter him from wearing down the Australian fast bowlers.


"This time, the Australian team management did a thorough study on his batting. They researched a lot and he was finding it difficult to score freely. They plugged the areas where he scored his runs last time. However, they couldn't get him out early. He again played a lot of balls and wore them down,"

Arvind

Pujara, Cheteshwar's father, told TOI after India's historic victory on Tuesday.

The senior Pujara, who is also his coach, explained how difficult it was for them without match practice. "Match practice is very important. He was preparing in our academy here in Rajkot. Due to restrictions, earlier only running and fitness activities were allowed. Gradually, we started nets practice as there were hardly any matches due to lockdown restrictions. He would have loved to have more matches under his belt," he said.

Lack of match practice hurt Pujara as he didn't get to spend time in the middle, something he always prefers. Clearly, he wasn't at his fluent best. "If you don't have match practice, you don't feel rhythm in your batting. In fact, the whole team lacked match practice.
"Around 26 catches (from both sides) were dropped in this series. Generally you don't see these many catches get dropped in a single series. It's nothing but the lack of match practice. If you see, he grew in confidence as the series progressed. Once he started facing more and more balls, he played his shots too. He looked much better in Sydney and Brisbane than the first two Test matches," the senior Pujara said.

Pujara scored 271 runs at an average of 33.87, 250 less than what he scored two years ago but the Indian team management knew the value of his runs and most importantly courage. "He was able to lay the platform for other batsmen, who could take on tired Australian bowlers later on. Most importantly, he again faced the bowlers when they were fresh.


"If you lose wickets early on, the whole team gets under pressure. Being a senior member of the side,

Cheteshwar

knew he would have to play an important role if his team had to win. I am glad he did it again," Arvind said.

The two yet again focussed on Cheteshwar's strength rather than doing things differently. "It was nothing different to what we did last time. Focus was more on conquering bounce. Since it was his third tour, he also had a fair idea about the conditions.

Most pundits had written off India's chances after their Adelaide loss when they shot out for 36. The senior Pujara said they didn't discuss much about that second innings. "What would you advise when a team gets out on 36? It doesn't happen often. It happened in the Pink Ball Test. Had it happened in regular red ball cricket, we would have spoken at length. The talk was just to forget it like a bad dream and focus on the job at hand. There were still three Tests to be played and the series was wide open," he added.

The veteran termed India's victory as historical "considering Indian team had so many injuries, while Australia had a full strength side". "Cricket is a team game. Of course, you miss an important player like Virat Kohli. Besides, the team kept on losing one key player after another. However, they were fearless. They showed great spirit…great fight. I am glad Cheteshwar could contribute to the team's success," he signed off.