Cheteshwar Pujara reveals how Anil Kumble's suggestion helped him tackle Nathan Lyon 

Cheteshwar Pujara

Cheteshwar Pujara has revealed how Anil Kumble's suggestion helped him fare better against Nathan Lyon in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Lyon looked off-color in the four-match Test series as the off-spinner could bag just nine wickets against India. Cheteshwar Pujara got out to him just once, in the first innings in Adelaide. But the right-handed batsman looked in command thereon.

In a conversation with Sports Today, Pujara admitted that Anil Kumble had suggested a gameplan to him in 2017 on how to negotiate Nathan Lyon, and reiterated it with a text message during the recently-concluded series.

"I also got a text from Anil bhai (Kumble) because I was in touch with him. He told me 'you have to play in a certain manner'. The gameplan which he told me in 2017 has been helping me play well against Nathan Lyon," said Pujara.

Cheteshwar Pujara, who scored 521 runs during India's tour of Australia in 2018-19, played a crucial role in the visitors' recent 2-1 series triumph Down Under.

I spoke to Ravi Shastri and Vikram Rathour: Cheteshwar Pujara

Cheteshwar Pujara

After scoring 45 in the first innings at Adelaide, Cheteshwar Pujara's form took a slight dip as he could only manage 20 runs in the next three innings. The 33-year-old mentioned that head coach Ravi Shastri and batting coach Vikram Rathour's faith helped him perform better.

"I trusted my preparation but at the same time, there was a lot of pressure which didn't help. So I told myself that I have to do something. There were so many things which I had to process in my head, which I did. I spoke to the batting coach, spoke to Ravi bhai (Shastri). Most of the feedback that I got was positive, I was batting well and just had to continue the way I had been batting without any baggage in my head," said Pujara.

Cheteshwar Pujara was India's second-highest run-scorer in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He scored 273 runs at an average of 33.8. His three valiant half-centuries in Sydney and Brisbane played an invaluable role in India's historic win Down Under.