Cheteshwar Pujara lavishes praise on Indian bowlers

Cheteshwar Pujara

Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara has praised the efforts of his team’s bowlers in the second Test against New Zealand. Courtesy of a spectacular century from captain Brendon McCullum, who put on an unbeaten 158-run partnership with wicket-keeper BJ Watling, New Zealand managed to thwart the Indian bowlers after a promising start to day 3 with Zaheer Khan picking up Kane Williamson and Hamish Rutherford in the first hour.

Pujara said, “If you look at both the Test matches we have taken so many good catches. Not only on this trip, but in South Africa also, the Indian fielding has been fantastic. We have effected many run-outs and held many good catches. So you are bound to drop a few catches here and there. It has been a fantastic game so far with many turns. But we are still in a very good position. If we can get a couple of quick wickets early on tomorrow, a lot of time is available. We are happy with the way things have shaped up.”

He added, “We could have been happier with a couple of more wickets but we are in a good position and in with a good chance to win this Test match. We have to give credit to their batsmen. The way they batted was really good. Brendon batted well and that partnership was very crucial for them. We tried our best but they were the winners in that last session. Like I said earlier, if we can get a couple early wickets then we can go through the tailenders.”

He is also hoping that the pitch will help India, saying, “The pitch is getting better day by day. Our bowlers did a very good job and bowled in the right areas. They didn’t allow them to score many runs, which is a good sign for us. Overall looking at the wicket, they bowled really well. We don’t want to chase a big target obviously, the lesser the better. But you cannot keep any targets in mind while bowling. We want to get them out as early as possible.”