Cheteshwar Pujara suffered plenty of blows on his body during India vs Australia Test series but he stood tall and helped India achieve history.
Cheteshwar Pujara took plenty of blows on his body during India vs Australia Test series. During the Brisbane Test, he was hit on the helmet and on the chest as well as on the arm in a hostile spell from Pat Cummins. In Sydney and Brisbane, he took plenty of blows but still soldiered on. In the entire four-Test series, Cheteshwar Pujara notched up the fifties in 174 balls and 196 balls, two of the slowest fifties in his career. Yet, he played 928 balls to grind the Australian quartet of Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon down. If Cheteshwar Pujara had worn down Australia with his sheer appetite of runs in 2018/19, then in 202-/21 he wore them down with his sheer ability to withstand punishment and bat on regardless. In both instances, India has gone on to win the series in Australia.
With a bruised body, Cheteshwar Pujara and his skipper Ajinkya Rahane played all the Tests as the rest of the Indian line-up succumbed to one injury after another. However, in an interview with Indian Express, Cheteshwar Pujara stated what kept him going in the Test series. It was the words of his daughter which boosted Cheteshwar Pujara every single time he took a blow. "When he comes home, I will kiss where he is hurt, he will be fine," Cheteshwar Pujara's two-year daughter Aditi said each time he would head back to the hotel.
Cheteshwar Pujara the new Wall of India
After India had created history in Brisbane, Indian national cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri hailed Cheteshwar Pujara as the ultimate warrior. However, former Australia skipper Michael Clarke said Cheteshwar Pujara was now very similar to Rahul Dravid and that Australia's pacers who could not get him out.
"Well, he is Rahul Dravid all over again. Isn't he? Well, I was lucky enough to play against the Great Wall. Very similar parts to Pujara’s game. He is very tough; he doesn’t give it away. He has copped criticism; people were saying Cummins had his measure but they just couldn’t get him out. He copped everything but he didn't change his natural game. That's why he deserves so much credit. In a cricketing world where everyone wants fours and sixes, there is still a role for a player like Pujara. He played a huge role in not only India winning the Gabba Test but once again India having success in these conditions,' Clarke told Sports Today.
When India won the Brisbane Test, Cheteshwar Pujara tweeted, "Overcome with emotion and filled with pride. The character & skill shown by the entire squad has been commendable. Moments like these make the countless hours of toil and practice truly worth it." The emotion was due to the fact that his daughter had the innocent and perfect cure for all the pain that he endured.
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