'He is a stone wall; haven't seen anyone take blows on the body like that' - Pat Cummins heaps praise on Cheteshwar Pujara's Brisbane heroics

Termed as India New Wall, Cheteshwar Pujara has established his name as one of the best in the hardest format of cricket – Tests. A man with no dearth of patience and a never-say-die attitude, Pujara has played a plethora of match-saving innings during his association with the Indian team.

The 33-year-old has been one of the most crucial batters in the last half-decade, being instrumental in the nation’s success in the five-day format. Pujara garnered praises from all corners after excelling in overseas conditions and braving the storm recently during India’s historic triumph Down Under.

In the Border-Gavaskar trophy, one of the most enticing battles was that between Pat Cummins and Pujara, who both tested each other in plenty. Both the players have high regards for each other, which can be evidenced in the way they speak about each other. In a recent interaction with Cricbuzz, the Aussie pacer reckoned that he feels like knowing Pujara even without having spoken a word to him.

He is an absolute stonewall: Pat Cummins

Pujara was a key player in India’s success in 2020-21, scoring 271 runs at 33.88, including three half-centuries. Whereas the right-hander amassed a whopping 521 runs at a brilliant average of 74.43 in four Test, including three centuries and a half-century during India’s tour in 2018-19.

“I feel like I know Pujara too well even without speaking a word to him, he is an absolute stonewall”, he said.

“Just when we thought we would be able to get through with the series without him having a huge impact like he had a couple of years earlier, he batted really well at the SCG and then at the Gabba”.

Notably, Pujara took quite a few blows on his body from both Cummins and Josh Hazlewood during the Gabba Test, but he refused to give up.

“I think if someone is looking really solid in defence, if you can hit them a couple of times or whizz a couple [of balls] past their eyes, 10 out 10 times their approach changes and as a bowler, you feel that you have created an opportunity. But in that [4th Test] game, Pujara just kept wearing the blows on the body. Really, courageous innings. I haven’t seen anyone copping blows like that,” said Cummins.

“He [Pujara] is a class player. And that is one of the things to love about Test cricket. You get to see Pujara bat with someone like Rishabh Pant; two completely different personalities, but as cricket fans, you have to admire both of them,” he added.