Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra was impressed with Cheteshwar Pujara’s unbeaten innings against England on Day three in Leeds. He lauded Pujara for showing positive intent at the crease on day 4 at Headingley.
England piled up 432 runs and took a huge 354 runs lead in the first innings. India lost their opener, KL Rahul, with 34 runs on the board. Then, Cheteshwar Pujara stitched partnerships with Rohit Sharma and Indian skipper Virat Kohli. He is unbeaten on 91 runs, off 180 deliveries, including 15 boundaries.
In a video shared on Aakash Chopra’s Youtube Channel, he spoke about Cheteshwar Pujara coming back to his old self in this innings. Aakash Chopra said:
“This is the Cheteshwar Pujara we always knew, who plays strokes and is hitting the balls that deserve to be hit. Sometimes your strength puts shackles on your legs. Cheteshwar’s strength is his defense and patience, that he can play the entire day and he has a rock-solid defense.”
“In the last two-and-a-half years we have seen him play in just the one fashion. Even if the runs were not coming he said that those are his two strongest facets and he will go with them. He played some valuable knocks, you can see the last match or Brisbane or Sydney, he did that numerous times but the century did not come,” he added.
This knock is a watershed event in Cheteshwar Pujara’s Test career: Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra further added that this knock is a turning point in Cheteshwar Pujara’s Test career. The number 3 batsman, should continue playing with this batting approach. Chopra said:
“In this knock, he said that’s it yaar, I am not going to think and will just see the ball and play. Puji is a spectacular player but at times the players go towards a defensive mindset and forget that when you go with the positive mindset, the feet move well and you think about the runs.”
“This knock is a watershed event in Cheteshwar Pujara’s Test career. After this however much he plays, he should play like this. I do hope and believe that after this Cheteshwar Pujara will not look back,” he concluded.
