Australians were sledging me as if they had won the match: Cheteshwar Pujara recalls the thrilling Bangalore Test win

The four-match Test series between India and Australia is regarded as one of the most competitive series in recent times. The series dished out many enthralling moments for the fans as both the sides were eager to prove their dominance on the field. Visitors Australia, under the leadership of Steve Smith, almost toppled the Indian side to pull off a historic series win.

After clinching the first Test of the series, Steve Smith and Co were eager to register victory in the second Test too. India were already under the pressure after losing the first Test at Pune. To plunge more misery on the hosts Virat Kohli’s men were bundled out for 189 in first innings of the 2nd Tests as Nathan Lyon scalped eight wickets to decimate their batting force.

Furthermore, Aussies went on to post 276 runs in their first innings on the back of half-centuries from Shaun Marsh and Matt Renshaw. Another loss was looming over India’s head but it was Cheteshwar Pujara’s gritty 92-run knock in the second innings which made the difference. Pujara (92) and Rahane (52) steered India to a total of 274 and in reply, Australia were bundled out at 112 in the second innings. Ashwin played a pivotal role in India’s 75-run victory as he scalped six wickets in the final innings of the Test.

Ashwin and Pujara, on Monday, recollected memories from that emphatic win. Reminiscing the match-winning stand with Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara said that he felt pressure when he walked out to bat in the second innings. Pujara said Australian players were sledging the Indian duo as if they had already won the match.

‘I felt pressure when I walked to bat’: Cheteshwar Pujara

“For me I think the first Test match… when we lost, all of us sat together and had a chat. In a 4-Test series, it’s always difficult to make a comeback after being 1-0 down,” Pujara said.

“In the 1st innings (Bengaluru Test), we didn’t bat well. So when I was walking into it, I felt a lot of pressure. But after the 1st innings, Anil bhai (Kumble) had a chat with me on how to tackle Nathan Lyon. I went to the NCA and worked on a few things which helped me.”

“But I felt pressure when I walked into bat (2nd innings). The kind of sledging they did… I thought they were a little ahead of what they wanted to achieve. Their thought process was… they felt they had already won the game,” he added.

“By Teatime, I was with Ajinkya (Rahane), we were coming into the dressing room and they were sledging as if they had won the game. That is when things did turn around, I felt,” said the Saurashtra batsman.