Cheteshwar Pujara scored 53 runs in the second innings of the Johannesburg Test against South Africa.© AFP
Cheteshwar Pujara might have scored 50 on Wednesday, but the Indian batter feels he didn’t go the extra mile for his knock on Day 3 of the second Test against South Africa. Pujara teamed up with Ajinkya Rahane to nail a 111-run tie for the third wicket and help India extend their lead on Wednesday. Both batters went through a lean spell, but eventually reached the crucial fifties on day three of the second Test.
“This field has a variable bounce and it’s not easy when you get a variable bounce, you put it away because you never know when you’re going to get an unplayable ball. It was part of my game that if I get a loose ball, I’m trying to convert it,” Pujara said at the press conference after day three’s game.
“But I didn’t do anything extra, I hit well and it was one of those days where everything went according to my plan. Overall very happy with the way things went and I think my collaboration with Ajinkya was very pivotal , given that we were at a stage where we wanted some runs for the team,” he added.
South Africa need 122 runs to win the second Test against India with six sessions left in the game here. Pujara is confident India will seal the match on Thursday, despite not having “many” wickets picked on Day 3.
“If you have some runs on the board it always helps, when you look at this game it was a challenging field but we have runs on the board so the game is still very balanced. We don’t have too many wickets picked up today, but we are confident we will have more chances tomorrow,” said Pujara.
Indian Test captain Virat Kohli suffered a spasm in his upper back on Monday morning and was excluded from the second test.
“He (Kohli) is definitely getting better and I think he will be fit soon,” Pujara said on Wednesday.
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South Africa folded India for 266 in the second innings, then got off to a good start when their score was 118/2 at the Stumps on Wednesday. South Africa started the chase cautiously as skipper Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram survived a tricky phase for Tea on day three.
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