India and Australia are all set to cross swords for the highly-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The opening clash of the four-Test series will begin from 9 February in Nagpur. Both teams have already kickstarted their final preparations and have been working on their combinations to shell out the best-possible attack against their opponent. Ahead of the vital clash, India’s star batter Cheteshwar Pujara, who donned the whites for India last time in the Bangladesh tour, refused to take the Aussies lightly. While speaking in an interview with Times of India, the 35-year-old also made it clear that the hosts are well prepared to put up a fight.
Pujara said the Australian unit is loaded with experience and India are aware of their strengths. Though India’s performance has been unmatched at their home, Pujara said, “they are great and have equally done well in India.”
Australia have been in top form in Test cricket and seemed unbeatable in red-ball cricket last year. They outclassed England and West Indies in their own backyard before beating Pakistan 1-0 away from home. They ended their away series against Sri Lanka 1-1.
Pujara is not taking his opponents lightly. “My important battles against them have always been in Australia. That’s something you need to do a lot of preparation for, as a batsman, you need to figure out your ways to counter them.” Additionally, he took the name of Pat Cummins while being asked about the toughest Aussie bowler to face in those conditions.
India hosted Australia last time in 2017 for a four-match Test series. Following a setback in the first game, the Indian brigade managed to turn the table around in the next few matches thanks to some gutsy knocks from Pujara. In the second Test, the right-handed batter stood tall on the tricky Bengaluru pitch when the other batters were seen struggling. He played a 92-run innings off 221 balls and helped his side to secure a 75-run victory. In the third match, which ended in a draw, Pujara was equally brilliant and scored 202 runs in 525 deliveries. Ultimately, the hosts bagged the series 2-1 by winning the final Test.
In the following year when India toured Australia for a red-ball series, Pujara was at the peak of his form and was named the player of the series. Then, India continued their dominance in 2020-21 in which series they recorded their famous win in the Gabba Test. Although, Pujara was not as good as he was in the earlier series. He appeared in 18 Tests in the gap of two years and managed to record 865 runs.
Referring to that time, Pujara noted, “There are moments when you are batting well and the runs start coming in, and there are other times when your career is going through a tough time. You must therefore take your time before making your shots. When you consume some balls, it happens. In Test cricket, it’s crucial to remember that if you are at the crease, you will ultimately score runs. If you look at my career and some of my domestic cricket innings, you’ll realize that I can accelerate when necessary.”
Looking at his tally in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Pujara is the sixth-highest run-getter in the history of the series. So far, he has played 20 matches and batted in 37 innings in which he has racked up a total of 1893 runs at a batting average of 54.08. He also has five centuries and 10 half centuries to his name.
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