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The New Zealand pacers' plan to treat their opposition with some chin music continued in the second session on Saturday as Neil Wagner hit Cheteshwar Pujara with an incisive bouncer.
After starting the day with some conventional full-length lines, Neil Wagner returned to his quintessential bouncer barrage against Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli. The No. 3 batter was rock-solid in his approach as always, leaving and ducking with care, until the second ball of the 37th over caught him off-guard.
Cheteshwar Pujara was slow on the pull against the head-high bumper and the ball hit flush on his helmet grill, ripping off the soft rubber protection on the back. A fist bump from Neil Wagner, inquiries from New Zealand players and a brief physio checkup followed. Pujara was initially stunned but indicated soon that he was good to go.
Here's the video:
It's unclear if the incident shook him enough to slow his footwork, but Pujara could only continue for 3 more overs. Left-arm pacer Trent Boult uncorked a beaming inswinger and rapped him on the pads for an easy LBW decision for the umpire. The batter didn't review and walked back with a 54-ball 8 to his name.
Earlier in the day, Shubman Gill was similarly hit on the head by Kyle Jamieson, only to edge a good-length ball from Neil Wagner a few overs later.
Cheteshwar Pujara took 36 balls for his first run
After Rohit Sharma and Gill's dismissals, it was important for India that Cheteshwar Pujara steadied the ship. The 33-year-old did just that by seeing off as many as 36 deliveries before scoring his first single. He also hit a couple of solid boundaries on the off-side before getting out.
The onus now lies on skipper Virat Kohli and his deputy Ajinkya Rahane to take India to a respectable target.
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