"People who have that ability were going slower than him" - Ajay Jadeja on Cheteshwar Pujara's attacking century

Ajay Jadeja feels Cheteshwar Pujara's attacking century was the brightest moment of the third day of the first Test between India and Bangladesh.

Pujara smashed an unbeaten 102 off 130 deliveries in India's second-innings score of 258/2 declared in Chattogram on Friday, December 16. His knock helped the visitors set a mammoth 513-run fourth-innings target for the Tigers, who batted out 12 overs before the close of play without losing a wicket.

During a discussion on Sony Sports, Jadeja was asked about his views on Pujara's aggressive knock, to which he replied:

"You didn't give the follow-on and the pace at which the game was going, for me Cheteshwar Pujara's knock was the brightest moment of the day because the guy is trying to do better in a given situation. People who have that ability were going slower than him."

The former Indian skipper praised the Saurashtra batter for taking advantage of the field settings for him, elaborating:

"He played amazingly well. He is an intelligent cricketer, he is playing for so many years. He doesn't always hit in the air but if you keep the mid-off and mid-on up, he understands how to play."

Pujara struck 13 fours during his innings. It was his fastest Test century, with the second fifty coming off just 43 balls.

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"It is a long time for someone who has scored so many centuries" - Ajay Jadeja on Cheteshwar Pujara ending his century drought

Cheteshwar Pujara last scored a Test century in January 2019.

Jadeja was also asked about Pujara ending his century drought of almost four years and his celebrations with Virat Kohli, to which he responded:

"He has scored 19 Test centuries and the 1443 days you are talking about, it is a long time for someone who has scored so many centuries. The celebration you saw (Pujara and Virat Kohli), both of them have spent a lot of years together, their Test careers have run almost in parallel, so you understand each other."

The cricketer-turned-commentator concluded by highlighting that the usually dogged batter's positive mindset helped him play an aggressive knock. He stated:

"His wagon wheel today was totally different because the approach and mindset were different today. He is the same player, who is so successful in his own style, but because the situation was different today, he said he has to play differently. Cheteshwar Pujara proved today how much difference your mindset makes in this game."

Pujara had not scored a hundred in his last 28 Tests. He played a 90-run knock in the first innings of the Chattogram Test before he was bowled by Taijul Islam when he seemed all set to end his century drought.