Each player is different, says Rahul Dravid on Pujara being compared to him

Cheteshwar Pujara has been once again proving his worth with the bat in the ongoing series against Australia. The right-hander has been nothing less than a rock in front of the wicket. No matter what the conditions or situations are, Pujara has lived up the expectations so far.

In the first Test in Adelaide, he played a sublime innings of 123 that helped India recover from a disastrous start and post a respectable total. He had top-scored in the second innings too, scoring 71 as India beat the hosts by 31 runs to take the lead in the series. The Perth Test saw him returning with two poor scores but he bounced back in style in the third Test in Melbourne, scoring yet another scintillating ton to put India in the driver’s seat.

The latest performance has further enhanced his reputation as India’s crisis man and has also elevated the comparisons with none other than the legendary Rahul Dravid.  Ever since Pujara arrived at the international stage, he has been referred to as the new wall of the Indian cricket. Unlike the majority of the modern-day batsmen, Pujara has the ability to occupy the crease for a long time like his illustrious predecessor.

Just like Dravid, Pujara has also become India’s go-to man in tough situations and pretty much like the former India skipper, the India number three rarely disappoints.

I don’t like this comparison

While the whole cricketing world is busy comparing Cheteshwar Pujara with Rahul Dravid, the man himself has brushed aside those suggestions. The legendary batsman, who scored over 10,000 runs in both the formats, reasoned by saying that each player is different. Dravid also praised Pujara for the manner in which he has picked himself up after being dropped for the first Test in England earlier this year.

“I do not like this comparison,” he said according to News 18 when asked if he sees a bit of himself in Pujara. “Each one is different. But he has been brilliant in the series. Touch wood, India go on to win tomorrow (Sunday). He, then, would have played two match-winning innings in two Test matches that India would have won. That is what it is all about. At the end of the day, you want to produce a match-defining or match-turning innings.

“And that is what Pujara has done; not only in this series, if you look through his career as well, a lot of his innings have come in quite difficult situations. So, yes, I think it is terrific the way he has been playing and the way the team has sort of rallied around him in some ways. The manner in which he has come back after not getting picked for the first Test match in the UK was brilliant.”

India, meanwhile, beat Australia by 137 runs in the third Test to retain the Border-Gavaskar series. Starting the final day on 258 for 8, Australia were all out for 261 while chasing an improbable 399. Jasprit Bumrah gave India the much-needed breakthrough by seeing off the stubborn Pat Cummins before Ishant Sharma dismissed Nathan Lyon to hand India the much-deserved win.

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