187 on this wicket is as good as 300, asserts Pujara
JOHANNESBURG: Terming his 179ball fifty as one of the toughest he has scored on a difficult Wanderers pitch, Cheteshwar Pujara said 187 is as good as 300 and hoped India’s seamers would dismiss South Africa for less than 150.
South African all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo, however, didn’t think 187 wasn’t a par score and that the hosts could outperform the visitors if they hang around till the bowlers get tired. With both camps taking contrasting positives from the first day, all will boil down to how India bowl on the second day. Pujara is upbeat about India’s chances.
“It was difficult to score on. It was difficult to rotate the strike. It has lot of bounce, it has seam movement and there is enough pace now. So we had to work hard.
But the amount of total we have, I think it’s as good as scoring
300 on any wicket. We got a wicket and if we bowl well, we will get them out. I would say it was a good day for us,” said Pujara.
“Our bowlers will bowl better lengths on this wicket. I am hopeful that on this wicket we have enough runs on the board.” “I think it’s a good wicket. You got to look to score. The total’s decent but at the end of the day I think it’s not really par. We bowled really well. If you just hang in there and get the bowlers to their second and third spells, you can really cash in,” Phehlukwayo said later.
Pujara and Virat Kohli scored contrasting fifties on the day with the former taking 54 deliveries to get off the mark. Had the South Africans reviewed a leg-before off Lungi Ngidi, Pujara would have been back without opening his account but then it was that kind of a day where things didn’t go according to plan. By grinding out a fifty, Pujara again showed that if given time he can make a start count.
Asked what he defined as ‘intent’, something Kohli has been repeating often this series, Pujara gave a measured reply. “Each and every player is different and Virat is someone who has been really batting very well in all the formats. The way he was batting, I don’t think any other batsman could have batted like t hat. For me, intent is where you defend well, you leave the ball well and play on the merit of the ball,” he said.