“There are some innings where I had to take the bullet” – Cheteshwar Pujara

India batter Cheteshwar Pujara recently recalled matches where he had to take blows to the body to survive against fearsome pacers. He believes one has to have plenty of guts to bat in the top order of the Indian team.

The 33-year-old is known to be the “rock” in the Indian side courtesy of his dogged defence and determination that has helped him survive difficult conditions. Cheteshwar Pujara discussed how important it is to "take some bullets" on the BBC's Test Match Special podcast.

“There are times when you need to face the bullet. If you are batting at the top of the order for the Indian team, especially overseas, you need to have a lot of guts. You need to have lots of patience and temperament. There are some innings where I had to take the bullet and that’s why they call me the ‘rock’,” said Pujara.

Pujara has been a mainstay in the Indian Test side in the No. 3 position. He has accumulated nearly 6300 runs at an average of 46 including 18 centuries.

He takes body blows Grinds it out in the middle Braves it all & stands tall81 Tests 🏏6111 runs 👌13572 balls faced 👏18 hundreds 👍Here's wishing #TeamIndia's Mr. Dependable @cheteshwar1 a very happy birthday 🎂Let's relive one of his fine tons against Sri Lanka 🎥👇

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 25, 2021

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It was difficult to judge the bounce of the ball: Cheteshwar Pujara on surviving the Australian tracks

Cheteshwar Pujara got hit multiple times during the tour to Australia in 2021

Pujara recalled the Indian team's recent tour to Australia where he was attacked with some short-pitched deliveries and ended up getting hit on the body multiple times. He revealed that there were some pitches with an unpredictable bounce that made judging the ball difficult.

“It was difficult to judge the bounce of the ball. And there were balls which were hitting my body. I just told myself that even if it hits my body, I will keep my hands down. I don’t want the ball to hit my gloves or bat. And that was mainly the game plan for any that was bowled short of back of a length,” explained Pujara.

Cheteshwar Pujara aggregated 271 runs in the series at an average of a shade under 34. The time he spent at the crease proved to be vital in the context of India's series victory Down Under.

Practice mode on! Good to be back 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/jX5zxcUX07

— cheteshwar pujara (@cheteshwar1) November 17, 2020