South Africa vs India: Cheteshwar Pujara rates Wanderers track as one of the toughest he has played on

The struggles of the Indian team continued in the final Test of the three-match Test series against South Africa. Despite an 84-run stand between Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli, the Indian team bundled out for a mere 187 in their first innings. Much to their defense, the track at the Wanderers, Johannesburg was not the easiest to bat on. The struggle looked real and even Kohli and Pujara had to work very hard for their respective fifties.

The toughness of the track was evident from the fact that Cheteshwar Pujara took as many as 54 balls to get off the mark. He was eventually dismissed on 50 that came off 179 deliveries. As per the quotes in Sport24.co.za, Cheteshwar Pujara affirmed that the track at Wanderers was one of the toughest that he has ever played on. He remarked that it was very difficult to rotate the strike and the bounce on the track was a little too much.

“This is one of the toughest wickets I have ever played on. It was difficult to score runs, especially initially in the first session. It was difficult to rotate the strike. There was a lot of bounce, it has seam movement and there is enough pace,” quoted Cheteshwar Pujara.

‘Good day for us’

Despite the fact that the Indian team could only muster 187 runs on the board, Pujara reckons that the day one was a good one for the Indian team. He mentioned that the total close to 200 is as good as a total in the vicinity of 300 on any other wicket. He feels that a few quick wickets on day two will pull India right back in to the game.

“We had to work hard to score runs but with the total we have, that’s as good as getting 300 on any wicket. If we bowl well, I think we’ll get them out. I think it was a good day for us. On this wicket you won’t be able to bat without getting beaten. I wouldn’t say it was a struggle … when you get beaten you have to accept it. To score a 50 on this pitch I think is a good knock,” conceded Pujara.

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