Injured Mathews left out of Sri Lanka squad
We really put them under pressure, a lot of pressure. They absorbed them, especially Pujara, who played a fantastic innings. In the middle session, they had the better of us. Pujara has the game for it. He takes a lot pressure. His game is such that you can depend on him and play your natural game. It goes hand in hand. We both are in good form as well, so it helps. THE ANCHOR The No 3 bat helps overcome Cummins’ strikes to lead the hosts’ fightback in Ranchi
Cheteshwar Pujara batted an entire day to graft a century India needed to stay in pursuit of Australia’s first innings total of 451. At stumps on the third day of the third Test on Saturday, India were 360/6, trailing by 91 runs in the first innings with Pujara and Wriddhiman Saha unbeaten on 130 and 18 respectively.
Pujara’s century was a wellconstructed masterpiece that took some time to get going. But once the second new ball was given to Pat Cummins, Pujara shifted gears decisively. It was the same new ball though that got rid of two India mainstays in a
Those two dismissals threatened to derail India’s progress after a nearly perfect morning session where the hosts scored only 73 runs but lost Murali Vijay on the verge of lunch. Playing in his 50th Test after returning from a shoulder injury, Vijay was largely successful in not letting spinners Steve O’Keefe and Nathan Lyon get an upper hand.
By then though, India had got two big partnerships on the board. After the 91-run opening stand on the second day, Vijay had combined with Pujara to raise 102 runs for the second wicket. Kohli’s dismissal could have proved crucial but Rahane’s 33-ball 14 allowed India to motor on. Pujara too had started playing
The game is evenlypoised. If we can get closer to the target and extend a lead from there, it would be a good game. Myself and Pujara had a talk, the main goal was to see off the initial phase. There’s a lot of pressure on Kohli. I don’t think it was directed at anything, I just think when you lose your two reviews it’s a bit of a relief to the opposition and he probably just showed that.