Delhi: Australian batsman Marnus Labuschagne aims to play long innings to tire the Indian fast bowling attack, like Cheteshwar Pujara did in the last two Border-Gavaskar Trophies. Pujara played 1258 balls in seven innings of four Test matches in 2018-19, which included three centuries. His brilliant batting played an important role in India’s victory. At the same time, in the 2020-21 Test series also, he faced 928 balls and led India to success. However, this time, Pujara is not a part of Team India and Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood is happy that he will no longer have to bowl to Pujara.
‘Why are you not coming to Pakistan?’, Suryakumar Yadav gave a befitting reply to fan’s question
Labuschagne told ‘ESPN Cricinfo’, “This series is very important for all of us. We are able to perform at our best only by staying at the crease for a long time. If we can tire him for the second and third spells and put him under pressure, it will be very beneficial. This is very important in a five-match series, because if the bowlers have to bowl 100, 150 or 200 overs, it will have an impact.”
Indian fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna and Nitish Kumar Reddy will play important roles in this series.
On the other hand, Hazlewood expressed happiness over Pujara’s absence and said, “Pujara is a batsman who spends a lot of time at the crease and does not give away his wicket easily. He performed brilliantly on the last tour, and his presence at the crease made it difficult for our bowlers. Now there are many big players in the Indian team, but the absence of Pujara will be felt.
Pujara’s performance against Australia
Pujara, who played 103 test matches for India, has an excellent record in Australia. He has scored 993 runs in 11 Test matches at an average of 47.28 and was named Player of the Series during the historic tour of India in 2018-19.
FAQ
What is the name of Pujara?
Cheteshwar Arvind Pujara is an Indian Test cricket player. Pujara is a right handed batsman.
How many double centuries does Cheteshwar Pujara have?
Pujara is behind only Don Bradman (37), Wally Hammond (36) and Patsy Hendren (22) in the list of batsmen who have scored most first class double centuries.