India’s Test specialist, Cheteshwar Pujara found himself at the receiving end of criticism after he scored the slowest half-fifty of his Test career on Day 3 of the ongoing Third match against Australia. Several cricketers and experts criticized the performance of Pujara and claimed that he could have done better.
However, Pujara claimed that he and the Indian batting lineup tried their best to cope up with the fiery bowling display by the Australian bowlers. Pujara scored his half-century off 174 balls, beating his previous slowest knock against South Africa in 2018, which he pulled off in 173 balls. But, what hurt India more was the fact that Pujara was dismissed immediately after getting to his fifty.
Later, after the match, during the virtual press conference, Cheteshwar Pujara said that he will have to focus on batting in his own way. He said:
“The way I got out today, I have to accept that. I could not have done anything better, I would rather focus on the things I need to do as a batsman. I just have to bat in the manner I know to bat, even as a batting unit, you need to build partnerships and bat well as a unit,”
He added:
“We are trying our best, but sometimes Pat Cummins has a better idea, sometimes he was bowled some of the unplayable deliveries, for example, the ball which I got, if there was any other batter, I felt that was the best ball of this series, sometimes you have to accept it, we are trying our best as a batting unit. It is not just about him, it is important to bat well as a unit,”
Furthermore, Pujara said that despite the fact that he got out at the wrong time but he was very confident during his stay on the pitch. He said:
“I have got out against him four times but some of them were really good balls, we need to respect that, overall I am confident about my batting, I would rather focus on the things I need to as a batsman rather than put too much pressure on him getting me out. The way I was batting today, I was really confident,”
