Playing his 100th Test, Cheteshwar Pujara on Sunday hit the winning run as India beat Australia by six wickets to go 2-0 up in the four-match series. With the win at Feroz Shah Kotla, India have retained the Border-Gavaskar series.
Speaking to the broadcasters, Pujara on Sunday said, pl;saying sweep shot on the low and slow Delhi surface was not ideal.
Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden asked Pujara about teaching sweep shots to Aussies in their dressing room. He replied: ” Ahh… Not really, at least before the series ends (smiles).”
On playing his 100th Test, he said: “Yeah, it has been a great Test match. Unfortunately, I didn’t get many runs in the first innings. I knew that if I stayed in the crease for a while and played initial balls well, I could do well.”
Unfortunately, he couldn’t score many runs in the first innings of the second Test; he was trapped lbw by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon for a duck.
“It is a special feeling when your family watches you playing the 100th game. I am really happy about the occasion. I was really happy them seeing me finish off the match with a boundary, ” he added.”
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy stays with India 🏆
The hosts go 2-0 up against with a comprehensive win in Delhi 👊#WTC23 | #INDvAUS | 📝 https://t.co/HS93GIyEwS pic.twitter.com/xI0xvh2vOm
— ICC (@ICC) February 19, 2023
Earlier today, Pujara’s domestic team Saurashtra registered a 9-wicket win over Bengal to claim their second Ranji Trophy title. Congratulating the team, the 35-year-old batter said, “Happy for the boys of Saurashtra for winning the Ranji Trophy. I did have an eye on the proceedings till lunch but couldn’t see what happened afterwards. Congratulations to all the Saurashtra boys.”
“I thought we might end up chasing 200-250. But kudos to our bowlers for restricting them to such a low score,” Pujara said on the last session of the second Test in Delhi.
When asked about playing sweep shot on this pitch, the Saurashtra star said, “Sweep is not an ideal shot to play with low bounce, but I’ve worked on it. With my game, I use my feet well and try to judge length as early as possible. I’ve always done that throughout my career. Not really, it was the initial phase when you walk out to bat. Some balls spun and some went straighter. Once you play 30-40 balls, it’s a good pitch to bat. Once the ball gets softer, it gets easier to bat on.”
Meanwhile, Ravindra Jadeja led Australia’s demolition with the ball as India triumphed by six wickets inside three days of the second test to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a 2-0 lead in the four-match series.
Jadeja claimed a career-best 7-42 as he and Ravichandran Ashwin (3-59) routed Australia for a paltry 113 in their second innings at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. The third test in Indore will begin on March 1.