"I don't think it was the right approach" - Ricky Ponting not impressed by Cheteshwar Pujara's defensive batting display

Cheteshwar Pujara laboured his way to a half-century on Day 3

Ricky Ponting is not impressed by the ultra-defensive approach of Cheteshwar Pujara in the first innings of the ongoing Sydney Test against Australia. The 46-year-old reckons that the batsman's slow scoring rate puts a lot of pressure on his partners at the other end.

Cheteshwar Pujara scored just 16 runs from the first 100 balls. He then laboured his way to a half-century off 174 balls before edging it to Tim Paine behind the stumps off the bowling of Pat Cummins.

Ricky Ponting thinks that Cheteshwar Pujara must be a bit more proactive in his batting. The former Australian captain tweeted:

“I don't think it was the right approach, I think he needed to be a bit more proactive with his scoring rate because I felt it was putting too much pressure on his batting partners.”

This is not the first time that the Saurashtra batsman's defensive approach has come under the scanner.

Cheteshwar Pujara’s strike rate has been well below 30 in all the five Tests that he has played in 2020-21.

Cheteshwar Pujara’s wicket triggered a mini-collapse for India

Australia find themselves ahead in the game with a handy first innings lead of 94 runs

Cheteshwar Pujara batted time but the scoreboard did not keep up the pace. The dismissal of Rishabh Pant and Pujara in successive overs when the score was at 195 triggered a mini-collapse.

India fell from 195/4 to 244 all out, losing their final six wickets for just 49 runs. The hosts have a handy lead of 94 runs as they come out to bat for the second time around.

With the pitch deteriorating at pace, India will have to bowl out of their skin to keep the target down to a reasonable level.