Thanks to Pujara’s fighting knock of 123, India had a decent total, reaching stumps at 250/9. Pujara stood tall among the ruins, and rightly, came in for high praise from former players and fans on Twitter.
Adelaide: It was a good toss to win for India at the Adelaide Oval in the opening Test of the four-match series against Australia. Barring Cheteshwar Pujara, Indian batsmen failed to come good on the first day.
Thanks to Pujara’s fighting knock of 123, India had a decent total, reaching stumps at 250/9. Pujara stood tall among the ruins, and rightly, came in for high praise from former players and fans on Twitter.
Right from the start of the innings, one batsman after another got out trying to play a bad shot. From KL Rahul to Murali Vijay, no one could carry the hopes on team India for a longer time.
Usman Khawaja pulled off a stunner to send skipper Virat Kohli back to the pavilion and vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, too got dismissed trying to chase a wide delivery bowled by Hazelwood.
India were reeling at 41/4 in the first session with a horrible top-order. In the middle after the fourth wicket, Rohit Sharma looked promising enough to give Pujara company but was soon dismissed for a catch-out by Marcus Harris at the boundary line.
Young Rishabh Pant, who was mostly in an attacking mode, also got dismissed trying to defend a good delivery from Nathan Lyon.
Despite the fact that the two wickets in the second session meant that even the session belonged to the Aussies, Pujara stood firm on his ground in the middle and reached the half-century mark in 153 balls.
The Indian No 3 batsman wasn't deterred by the wickets falling on the other side. A 62-run partnership between Pujara and Ashwin ensured that the visitors scored more than 200, until Ashwin got out off a ripper from Pat Cummins after hitting 25 runs off 76 balls.
Pujara’s second 50 runs came off 78 balls and his strike rate improved considerably after crossing the first 50-mark. His presence in the middle meant that India had something to cheer about until he was run out by Pat Cummins while trying to steal a quick single at the end of the day.
There's no doubt that India could reach the 250-mark by the end of the day because of Pujara's 123-run innings. Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah are expected to add a few runs to that tally tomorrow.
Here are some of the reactions from Twitter, praising Pujara
Pujara was like a sage on this first day. Focussed, determined and gritty . A knock to remember
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag)Pujara you beauty! 💯
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh)One the great guys of the game .. What an innings from ... Steve as the Yorkshire team call him as they couldn’t pronounce his 1st name ...
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan)Sterling century by , among the best he’s played as also among the best by an Indian batsman in Australia. Heavy duty concentration, application and commitment in stark contrast to the airy-fairy profligacy of the others. Kudos!
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah)Like in Southampton when he got a 100, Pujara attacks only when he starts running out of partners. While others attack on instinct and out of insecurity. Well played Pujara. 👏👏👏
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar)Pujara's innings today:
0-40 runs : Dravid
40-80 runs : Sachin
80-120 runs : Sehwag
poora bachpan yaad dila diya.
What is the common thing between Bear Grills and Cheteshwar Pujara?
They know how to survive even without a partner.
Pujara walks into a bar
"I'll have what they're not having"
This Chesteshwar Pujara innings is worth an IPL orange cap earned over 14 games in 8 weeks across the country. But this man won’t get a contract. So we must find a way to acknowledge and compensate his excellence.
— Rahul Fernandes (@newspaperwallah)Do you know?
Dravid and Pujara have reached their milestones of 3000 runs, 4000 runs and 5000 runs in Tests in SAME number of innings.
3000 runs in 67 innings
4000 runs in 84 innings
5000 runs in 108 innings
Heights of coincidence!
Day 1 against a top bowling line up - Pujara’s showing how it’s done. The traditional test cricket grinding.. Aggressive intent doesn’t mean aggressive batting, right ?
— Jatin Sapru (@jatinsapru)Read Exclusive COVID-19 Coronavirus News updates, at MyNation.