Being Cheteshwar Pujara in the age of Virat Kohli

He's not the batsman Virat Kohli wants in his Test side, but definitely a batsman he needs. The last one year hasn't been that great for Cheteshwar Pujara. He's been in and out of the team, struggling to keep his place in the playing 11.

There's no question about the fact that this is Kohli's team - he's raising the bar for everyone.

Pujara with the kind of technique and typical Test batsman mentality he has, isn't the kind of batsman who can change the Test match in a session like Kohli. He isn't the kind of batsman who will dominate the bowlers. He isn't the kind of a batsman that'll make the crowds turn and exclaim, "oh look it's Pujara".

Pujara hardly fits the role of the number three that 3 Kohli wants in his side. When Kohli first became the full time captain in the fourth test against Australia in 2014, the first thing he did was to remove Pujara as the number 3 and put Rohit Sharma in his place.

But there is so much more that the Indian team needs from him right now in the Test side.

On Friday when the likes of Dhawan and Kohli delighted viewers with some shots and eventually got out, it was Pujara who stood tall. He was there to blunt the England side down and bore them into submission. England tried everything against Pujara but he stood there as a rock. Even when the others around him faltered, he was there. He was there to make sure not everything goes wrong.

For all the grit and determination he showed throughout the day, the attacking play at the end of the day with first Ishant Sharma and then with Jasprit Bumrah - it was all too remarkable. For long Pujara hasn't been considered good enough to play in the limited overs format for India because of his technique. But he showed everyone he can find those gaps and change gears if needed.

This was a hundred that Pujara desperately needed, perhaps the most in his career so far. He had a point to prove that even in this day and age he is still the number three that India desperately need in their Test side.