While the spinners stole the limelight in India’s convincing victory in the first Test against South Africa in Mohali, one cannot forget the key contribution made by Cheteshwar Pujara with the bat, especially in the second innings when batting had become really difficult.
Batting at No. 3, Pujara stroked a fluent 77 which steered India to 200 on a tough wicket for batsmen. Chasing 218 for victory, South African batsmen also failed to get to grips with the conditions, and were eventually bowled out for 109.
Pujara, 27, claimed the experience of batting on spin wickets in domestic cricket helped him cope with the South African spinners in Mohali.
“For me, it’s the experience -- having played lots of domestic cricket and scored big runs on domestic cricket helped me to know the pitches. I know my game plan and what things I need to do to tackle spin bowling,” he said.
According to Pujara, having good footwork and reading the spin early is the key to doing well against spinners.
“Looking at the last Test match, my footwork was really good. I think the judgement of length and spin are both required. In the last match, a few balls were coming in, so it was important to know which balls might come in and which line you could leave the ball on and which line you should play it,” he said.
Pujara has played 29 Tests since his making his debut in 2010 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. He stressed on how he has changed his stance recently, narrowing it a bit, after consulting India ‘A’ coach Rahul Dravid.
“For me, I have the measurement of what kind of stance I have, the distance between my legs. So, before, I had a little bit more wider stance but now I have changed it to slightly shorter. Obviously, every stance has its advantages and disadvantages -- of players' comfort and the kind of technique they have. So each and every individual is different. The most important thing about the stance is comfort. I discussed about it with my father and Rahul bhai [Dravid] before the Sri Lanka series and then I came down to a conclusion of what I wanted and it has helped me.
Pujara was dropped from the Indian team for the fourth Test against Australia in Sydney in January. He failed to make it to the squad for the next two Tests in Sri Lanka before he was drafted in as the opener for the third and final Test. The right-hander grabbed the opportunity with both hands, stroking 145 which helped India win the Test match by 117 runs and also clinch the series 2-1.
“If you talk about form, there was never doubt that I wouldn't come back to international cricket because the start that I had was good. I had the confidence. I was back to form. All cricketers will have that phase when they are not performing as well as they should. But once you start believing in yourself, start working harder on your game and start scoring runs in any game, it can be domestic or club then you gain the confidence that you can do well,” he said.