Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane played well and responded well to the criticism: Sunil Gavaskar

Although India bowlers are basking in the glory of an epic Test victory at Lord’s, Sunil Gavaskar was lavish in praise of the contribution of senior batters Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. The duo waded a tricky little period and put on a stand worth 100 runs to bring some parity to the situation.

Both the players came into the Test match in need of some serious runs under their belt. While Pujara looked his usual self and scored a gritty 45 runs off 206 balls, Rahane curbed his natural instincts and scored 61 runs.

The duo’s stand gave the dressing room hope and belief to pull off an unlikely win on day five of the Lord’s Test match. Rahane and Pujara could not go on and get a substantial score, but the duo getting back to some form augurs well for the Indian team in the remainder of the Tests against England.

Gavaskar lauded Pujara and Rahane and hailed their invaluable contribution to India’s epic win. “They did (play a crucial role). Both of them are what you call low-profile players and not high-profile players. They don’t get the attention that some others do. It may be because of the style of play or whatever but they are invaluable to the team and they brought all their experience to play,” Gavaskar told Sony Sports after India’s 151-run win in the Lord’s Test.

Sunil Gavaskar feels Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane responded well to criticism 

Gavaskar further opined that with India three wickets down, both the senior players were played according to the situation and responded well to the criticism.

“They hadn’t scored runs in the first Test. So it was clear that they were under pressure. They hadn’t scored runs in the first innings as well. There were a lot of questions asked about their place in the team and they responded in the only way they can, by stitching together a partnership when it was most needed.”

“India were only 28 runs ahead and had lost their best batsmen Virat Kohli when these two came together. Fabulous effort,” he added. 

Apart from Gavaskar, several other experts like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, and Rahul Dravid hailed team India’s incredible win at Lord’s.