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Team India batter Cheteshwar Pujara claimed the Player of the Series award for his performances in the recently concluded two-match Test series against Bangladesh. He played a key role in the visitors' win in the first Test in Chattogram, where he also managed to end his international century drought.
Pujara scored 90 and 102* across both innings in the first Test, with the hundred coming at a strike rate of 78.
The right-handed batter added an array of strokes to his arsenal and played in a much more positive manner.
Crediting his county stint in England and domestic cricket with Saurashtra for his revamped positive method of playing Tests, Pujara told Ravichandran Ashwin in an interaction following India's series win in Dhaka:
"I was pretty happy with the way things went, particularly in the second innings (of the first Test) because that was the ideal situation for me to showcase the shots which I have been practicing. A lot of credit has to go to the amount of white-ball cricket I played for Sussex and Saurashtra."
He continued:
"It helped me gain confidence, I was playing those shots before that as well, but in Tests you always kind of hesitate, you always want to put a price on your wicket, you don't want to take the risk when you can score runs down the ground."
His unconventional hundred in the second innings of the first Test marked his first three-figure score since the New Year's Test against Australia in 2019.
"Last Test match was the one where I got the opportunity to do that" - Cheteshwar Pujara on putting his new approach to use
Team India had a comfortable cushion of a 254-run lead at the halfway mark of the first Test. The Men in Blue deployed a positive route in the second innings, scoring 258 runs in 61.4 overs.
Shubman Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara scored their respective hundreds at a strike rate exceeding 70, giving the bowlers enough time to bowl Bangladesh out of the game.
Noting that the situation was ideal for him to bring out shots like the sweep shot more often, the batter said:
"You know I have been working in this for quite some time. It's been a couple of years. Last Test match was the one where I got the opportunity to do that, which you have been pushing me to do as well."
Pujara registered scores of 24 and six in the second Test.
Will Pujara stick true to his positive approach even in the upcoming high-pressure home series against Australia? Let us know what you think.
