"Could have been a little more aggressive" - Parthiv Patel on Cheteshwar Pujara's knock on Day 2 of 3rd IND vs AUS Test

Former keeper-batter Parthiv Patel believes that India's Cheteshwar Pujara should have played more aggressively on Day 2 (Thursday) of the ongoing third Test against Australia in Indore.

Patel pointed out how skipper Rohit Sharma was also seen instructing substitute Ishan Kishan to tell Pujara to go into attacking mode. He opined that the batter had no other option but to listen to the skipper.

The 37-year-old suggested that Pujara should have looked to score runs quickly, as Australia had a lot of fielders inside the circle. He emphasized that as there was a lot of time left in the Test, accumulating runs at that stage was the right thing to do.

Patel mentioned that Pujara has the ability to counter-attack, which he did by hitting a stunning six off Nathan Lyon soon after Sharma's message.

Speaking to Cricbuzz after stumps on Day 2, he explained:

"You have to listen to the captain's instructions. You don't have a choice. Rohit too would have had something on his mind while sending such a message. He knew that runs were important, as there was still a lot of time left in the Test. The message was also sent because Australia had a lot of fielders inside the circle at the stage.

"Pujara showed that he can be aggressive. He doesn't do it a lot, but that's his own theory. But he could have been a little more aggressive as wickets were falling at regular intervals and scoring runs was very crucial."

Lauding Pujara for his fighting half-century, Patel added that the Test specialist has often bailed India out of trouble with his knocks in the second and fourth innings of a match. He remarked that doing so requires a lot of courage and patience, adding:

"The pitch gets very difficult in the second or fourth innings. Pujara has the skills and patience. If you don't have patience, what has happened in the previous ball keeps lingering in your mind as there could be uneven bounce on the third or fourth day. There are a lot of bouncers too, like how we saw in Australia. So it requires a lot of courage and patience."

Notably, Pujara emerged as the lone warrior for the home team in their second innings, scoring 59 runs off 142 deliveries. India were ultimately bundled out for just 163 runs, setting Australia a modest 76-run target.

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"He is a quality bowler and made full use of the spin-friendly conditions here" - Parthiv Patel on Nathan Lyon's sensational bowling exploits

Parthiv Patel further stated that Australia's veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon made things very difficult for the Indian batters by bowling very accurately.

He noted that the crafty spinner didn't give enough chances to the batters to score runs. The former cricketer added that the bowler made full use of the turning track, while also utilizing his arm ball.

Patel elaborated:

"Nathan Lyon, with his consistent line and length, didn't give the Indian batters any chances. That's his strong point. With his repeatable bowling action, he is able to hit the same areas time and time again. His economy rate of 2.70 indicates that he didn't give a lot of run-scoring opportunities, thus forcing the batter to go for big shots.

"He can turn the ball and get batters out at short leg, and we also saw how he used the arm ball to get the better of KS Bharat. He is a quality bowler and made full use of the spin-friendly conditions here."

Lyon single-handedly ran through India's star-studded batting lineup. The 35-year-old picked up eight wickets in the second innings.