"His intention was always to score runs" - Sunil Gavaskar showers praise on Cheteshwar Pujara after his valiant half-century in Indore

Sunil Gavaskar reserved high praise for Cheteshwar Pujara for his valiant half-century in the third Test between India and Australia at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore.

Pujara played one of his best Test knocks at home, scoring 59 off 142 balls, with the help of five boundaries and a six. He made the Aussie bowlers work hard with an attacking brand of the game, which is quite unusual compared to his normal approach.

Praising the Saurashtra-born batter, Gavaskar pointed out three things that stood out in Pujara's knock.

“He showed three things - great patience, good technique and then the intent," he said while speaking to the host broadcaster. "Whenever he got a slight chance to punch the ball, he was scoring runs. Whenever he got a chance, he stepped out and drove the ball. In the end, he even hit a six after stepping out."

Sunil Gavaskar also highlighted that Pujara's biggest strength lies in his ability to adapt to different conditions and situations.

“His intention was always to score runs and that he doesn’t have to just stand on the pitch," the former cricketer added. "We saw his knocks in Brisbane and Sydney, there he was trying to tire the bowlers. Cheteshwar Pujara knows extremely well how to adjust his game according to the match situation."

However, apart from this knock, Pujara has had a pretty average series, accumulating only 98 runs in five innings at an average of 24.50, including one half-century.

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"Cheteshwar Pujara’s ability is to occupy the crease and tire out the bowlers" - Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar further highlighted that Cheteshwar Pujara's strength lies in his ability to bat for longer durations, unlike legendary batters Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar, who preferred to hit boundaries off good deliveries.

“You need defensive ability in Test cricket, where you can keep out the good balls," he continued. "If you are a genius like Tendulkar or Sehwag, who used to hit boundaries off good balls, they have a different ability, but Cheteshwar Pujara’s ability is to occupy the crease and tire out the bowlers."

Meanwhile, Australia bounced back in the third Test in Indore by beating India by nine wickets. They currently trail the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 1-2 and will hope to level the series in the fourth and final fixture in Ahmedabad.