Cheteshwar Pujara rates Hardik Pandya as a very good all-rounder

Team India is in a commanding position in the Galle Test and that was possible because of the 253–run partnership between Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara on the first day of the Test. Both the batters scored 150+ scores while Dhawan fell just 10 short of his double, Pujara got out after adding just three runs to his 6th 150+ inning.

The visitors managed 600 runs in the first innings and with enough runs in the bag came out hard at the Sri Lankans. After toiling in the field for almost five sessions the hosts couldn’t get off to a great start as Umesh Yadav struck in his first over to send back opener Dimuth Karunaratne. Towards the end of the day things deteriorated further and Lanka were 5 down for 154 and trail the Indian total by 446 runs.

Pujara was India’s leading run-scorer in the previous season where he displayed tremendous ability to bat for longer stretches and piled on the runs against all the opponents. When asked if there is an additional motivation for him to do well in Tests he said irrespective of what level he is playing, he enjoys his game and doesn’t need extra motivation.

“Whenever I play cricket, at the international or first class level, I enjoy this game. I don’t need any extra motivation as far as cricket is concerned. I love playing this game, I love my batting. Whenever I get the opportunity to score some runs or do something on the field, I always like that challenge and I am always very well prepared. I trust in my preparation and work hard on the same. Whenever there is a challenge, I am always up for it,” Pujara said after the end of the second day’s play.

Batting on tough wickets

He has shown determination and application of steel in recent times in Test cricket putting up magnificent batting shows on tracks that turned square. The 29-year-old loves to do well on challenging wickets as it gives him higher satisfaction.

“As a batsman, you always want to perform well on challenging wickets. The wicket at SSC (in 2015) was more challenging than this one. When you score a hundred on such wickets, it is more satisfying than this one. I always enjoy scoring hundreds,” he said having scored his 12th Test hundred in the first innings.

All-rounder Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya who earned his maiden Test cap in this game walked out to bat when the team had lost 6 wickets and had 491 runs on the board. The emphasis was on scoring quick runs and attempting to get the total as close to 600 as possible. He played his shots and knocked 3 sixes; the most by an Indian on Test debut.

His fifty coupled with Mohammed Shami’s 30 and Umesh’s 11 helped the team get to exact 600 before Pandya gave his wicket away. Talking about the debutant’s batting abilities Pujara said, “I think he is a very good all-rounder. When it comes to his batting, he is trusting his strength.”

“The way he was batting, I think that’s how he should be batting even going ahead. This was the right situation for him, the way he bats. He could dominate the bowlers, he could play his shots. When he is playing with the tail-enders, that’s the way he should be playing. He has showcased that even at the highest level. Being an all-rounder it always helps because we need someone who can bowl 10 overs in a day if there is an opportunity. He is the perfect all-rounder for us,” the Saurashtra lad further added.

Strategy to tackle spin

Spin is expected to play a huge role in the series and though the Lankan spinners picked just 1 wicket in India’s first inning it is starting to come in play as the pitch is drying up and offering more turn to the bowlers. But Pujara thinks it is still pretty much possible to tackle spin if the batters start well.

“Attacking spin will help in the series? If you start well, it always puts opposition on the back foot. When you are playing international level, you still expect them to fight back and we won’t take them lightly. We would like to stick to what we want to do and that was the reason for our success in the home season. We stuck to our strengths, stuck to things which we wanted to and excelled as a team.”

When you start off well, opposition is always on the back foot. As Indian batsmen, we have enough exposure to spin in domestic circuit. All our batsmen are batting well. Even lower-order like Ravindra Jadeja, Ashwin, Saha, Hardik, all of them can bat well. We all bat well against spinners,” he stated.