Former Indian Test batter Cheteshwar Pujara recently shed light on coping up with immense pain during the iconic Border-Gavaskar series against Australia. Pujara scored a crucial knock of 56 runs off 211 balls in the second innings of the historic Gabba Test match and played a key role in the team’s three-wicket win.
Pujara revealed he got hit by the ball during practice in the Sydney Test match but decided to avoid going for the scan as India was carrying a lot of injured players.
“I got hit by a ball during a practice session for the Sydney Test, and my finger was bleeding. I still did not stop my practice and continued batting. Then I spoke to the physio that this looks a bit serious; shall we do the scan? Once the Test match ended, we came to know that Ashwin had a back spasm. He may not be available for the last Test. Hanuma Vihari had a hamstring tear, so he was also not available. Actually, there were just 12 people available for selection before that Test.
“The physio asked me, ‘Are you sure you want to go for a scan?’ Even if it shows a fracture, you still might have to play. I told him, ‘You are right; let’s avoid the scan and just protect the finger.’ I used to take medicines like painkillers for that, and he protected the finger well during the Test.”
Pujara admitted he didn’t have a great record in Australian conditions and he was determined to turn the tables in pressure situations.
“When I walked into bat, it was the perfect platform because I had worked hard throughout the series, but when it comes to my individual performance, it hadn’t been that good. My numbers were not that good in Australia. I was very determined that even if I drew the Test match by batting the whole day, we would have won the series.”
The former Indian batter admitted his ego was hurt as he was hit on the body repeatedly by the Australian fast bowlers.
“By lunchtime, I had been hit more than thrice. But I carried on batting with the same determination. There was a little eye contact with Aussie players during Lunch. They appreciated it but also said, ‘How are you playing? Is this how you want to play?’ The short leg said he would have hit fours and sixes had he been batting. Then I got motivated that I needed to show them. As it carried on, my ego was hurt because I was getting hit repeatedly. I was telling myself this might be my ugliest knock.
India registered an iconic 2-1 series win against Australia and Pujara scored 271 runs in four Test matches.
