"It was a masterclass on how to play spin on a turning pitch" - Deep Dasgupta lauds Cheteshwar Pujara's knock in 3rd IND vs AUS Test

Deep Dasgupta has lauded Cheteshwar Pujara for exhibiting a masterclass in batting against spin on a rank turner in the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Pujara scored 59 runs in India's second-innings total of 163 in Indore. However, his efforts went in vain as Australia won the match by nine wickets on Friday (March 3) to reduce the deficit to 2-1 in the four-match series.

While speaking on Star Sports, Dasgupta was all praise for Cheteshwar Pujara, saying:

"The standout innings came from Cheteshwar Pujara once again. It was a masterclass on how to play spin on a turning pitch - decisive footwork, clarity of thought and never missed an opportunity to score runs, whether it was by stepping out or off the back foot."

The former Indian wicketkeeper-batter pointed out that the Saurashtra batter mixed caution with aggression during his innings, elaborating:

"There was a lot of help for spinners from this pitch but till the time Pujara was batting, it didn't seem there was help for the bowlers there. Defense is his strength, when he was doing that it didn't look like he would get beaten at all, but we also got to see the aggressive intent."

Pujara played 142 deliveries during his almost four-hour vigil at the crease. The Test specialist struck five fours apart from a mighty six off Nathan Lyon's bowling.

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"He showed that again in this match" - Sanjay Manjrekar says the Indian team still needs Cheteshwar Pujara

Cheteshwar Pujara was the only half-centurion across India's two innings.

Sanjay Manjrekar highlighted that Pujara has proved his importance to India in Test cricket once again, observing:

"It has been one year since he was dropped from the Indian Test team, he was dropped when there was a home series here. He came back for a one-off Test match in England, scored an important fifty, then we came to know that the Indian team still needs Cheteshwar Pujara. He showed that again in this match."

The former Indian batter added that Rohit Sharma and Co. need Pujara in the longest version for his conventional batting approach, explaining:

"He said a big thing that he was waiting for the loose balls. This is the old philosophy, this is not the attacking philosophy. Travis Head played with a strike rate of 80 today after Australia scored 13 runs in 10 overs. So everyone has his own methods. The method Pujara has, the way the Indian batting is evolving, I have no doubt that we need him a lot."

Pujara was the only Indian batter to cross the 30-run mark in the Indore Test. He was also the only one to bat more than 40 deliveries in the second innings.