The final of the 2021–23 ICC World Test Championship took place at The Oval on Thursday, June 8. Veteran Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara struggled against Australia on Day 2.
Despite being one of India’s best players in red-ball cricket over the past few years, Pujara struggled to get going in the summit in WTC Final match.
Before being defeated by Cameron Green in the first innings, the right-handed batter only contributed 14 runs.
He died while attempting to leave one outside the stump that was off. The ball ultimately crashed onto the stumps, indicating that the decision was poor.
Many fans voiced their disappointment in Pujara’s performance on social media after his dismissal. These are a few of the tweets that received the best responses.
County Centurian Cheteshwar Pujara 🙂 pic.twitter.com/pLfURwJrPP
— k♡ (@sarphiribalika_) June 8, 2023
Pujara in Pujara in
County WTC Final 2023 pic.twitter.com/1AfrTevlCV— Shamanth (@shamant_18) June 8, 2023
For how long are we going to carry this dead weight Pujara in the test team? You had it right the first time when he was dropped! @BCCI #WTCFinal2023 #WTC23 #AUSvIND #Pujara
— Chandan Kumar K (@chandank_17) June 8, 2023
I tell you what, Cheteshwar Pujara is a bigger Scam in Indian Cricket than KL Rahul… The guy never plays 😭#WTC23Final pic.twitter.com/6O62JogMwB
— Akshara (@Akshacriccrazy) June 9, 2023
https://twitter.com/sangram22252264/status/1666827680497676289?s=46
https://twitter.com/foruoreo/status/1667047253511647232?s=46
*Pujara in England*
Playing for county Playing for country pic.twitter.com/HhBiJQXH4B
— Pakchikpak Raja Babu (@HaramiParindey) June 8, 2023
Pujara worst ever non performer. But he was always in playing 11. Even KL Rahul didn’t got this much opportunity. @cheteshwar1 needs to be dropped from test side permanently
— Natarajan Krishnamurthy (@raja2207) June 8, 2023
Notably, Pujara had impressive form going into the WTC 2023 championship game in England’s County Championship (Division Two).
The 35-year-old scored 545 runs in eight innings, averaging 68 points per inning.
Given that he had been playing in similar circumstances for the previous few months, it was expected of him to score significantly in the crucial game.
India’s top order falls short in the WTC 2023 finale
After Australia scored an enormous 469 runs in the first innings, it was up to the Indian batters to help the team force their way back into the match.
The top order batsmen for India, however, came up short. The first person to leave was the skipper, Rohit Sharma.
In the sixth over of the inning, Pat Cummins, the opposing pitcher, struck out the first batter.
While Sharma only managed to score 15 runs, Shubman Gill was unable to carry over his excellent IPL performance into Test cricket.
Before Scott Boland dismissed the talented young batsman, he had scored 13 runs.
Being outscore by Mitchell Starc for 14, Virat Kohli also failed to contribute significantly.
To keep India in the match, Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja put together a crucial 71-run stand.
India is at 151/5 at the end of Day 2 but still has a 318 run deficit.
India currently needs a miraculous turnaround and Australia appears to be in a commanding position.
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