England bowlers looked exasperated and kept bowling on the leg side to Cheteshwar Pujara: David Lloyd

Cheteshwar Pujara was the star performer with the bat for the Indian side in the second innings of the third Test match against England at Headingley. The right-handed batsman thwarted England’s charge by scoring a resolute 91* off 180 deliveries, to allow India to end Day 3 with the scoreboard showing 215/2.

And, former England cricketer David Lloyd reckons that Pujara was unable to score runs in the previous matches because the England bowlers had bowled to him around off stump and tied him up. Lloyd also opined that in the second innings, the English bowlers fed Pujara with deliveries on the leg side, and those are the exact kind of deliveries that the right-hander was hoping for.

Lloyd further added that Pujara has taken over the mantle of the No.3 slot from the legendary Rahul Dravid, and he was extremely positive in his stay out in the middle.  The cricketer-turned-commentator also said that England lost their discipline with the red cherry in hand.

“Cheteshwar Pujara has had a lean time in this series because England have done for him on and around off stump. But on Friday all the bowlers looked exasperated as they kept bowling leg side to him. It’s exactly where he wants it!

Make no mistake: he’s a real sticker and has taken over from Rahul Dravid in this team. But in this innings, he was positively flowing. Whether they were looking for extravagant swing or not, they lost their discipline,” wrote Lloyd in The Daily Mail.

Cheteshwar Pujara batted with a lot of intent: Rohit Sharma

Indian opener Rohit Sharma also heaped praise on Pujara and reckoned that the Indian No.3 batted with intent in the second innings. The ‘Hitman’ further added that Pujara pounced on any loose delivery that was bowled to him by the England pacemen, and concluded by stating that this kind of intent from Pujara will help the side.

“Yes, he definitely came with an intent to score runs. This innings of ours was never about survival. We had the intent to score runs and Pujara clearly showed that. The way he got off the mark and then carried on from there, anything loose, he was ready to pounce on it. It shows that he had intent in his batting and that really helps. When you have that sort of intent, any loose deliveries will not be spared,” said Rohit Sharma in the post-day press conference.