“There is a blood clot on the shoulder” – Cheteshwar Pujara speaks on the blows he took to his body during Gabba knock

Cheteshwar Pujara played a lion-hearted knock in the fourth Test for India against Australia that ended in a famous victory for the visitors at the Gabba. Coming in to bat after the early wicket of Rohit Sharma and with a mammoth score of 328 to chase on a difficult Day 5 pitch, Pujara hung around and ensured he never lost his confidence. His composure helped his batting partners play more freely and get near the target which was finally conquered.

The Saurashtra batsman copped a plethora of blows to his body which amounted to more than ten because of his unwillingness to take a risk by pulling or ducking under short deliveries. In the end, despite all the blows, it was worth it as India breached the Gabbatoir fortress and clinched the series 2-1 by defying all odds, especially given the number of injuries the team suffered and the debacle in Adelaide.

‘You need a lot of patience to break bowler’s plans’ – Pujara

Cheteshwar Pujara spoke to NDTV today about the tour of Australia and the blows he took to his body. He said, “There is a little bit of blood clot on the shoulder but it’s all settled, now. I have recovered well. You have all the protection when you are wearing the helmet. But the one I got hit on the finger was really painful. That was the toughest blow. I thought my finger was broken. I was first hit on my finger during the net session in Melbourne. I carried the niggle to Sydney. But when I was hit on the same finger in Brisbane, it was unbearable.”

He then spoke about his batting approach saying, “Credit goes to Australian bowlers. They study your batting, they assess a lot of videos and then they come up with a plan. To break that, you need lot of patience, you need to figure out things to break such game plan. When things are difficult out in the middle, you don’t want to throw your wicket away and put the team under pressure. When someone plays a long innings, it helps the other batsmen who are walking in next.”

Pujara will next be seen in action in the first Test against England in Chennai which begins on February 5.

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