After a tottering Day 3 on the pitch Cheteshwar Pujara revealed that he would not suggest Rishabh Pant to dilute his natural attacking way but would advise him to be more “sensible” with shots. The swashbuckling opener smashed 91 off 88 balls, his lowest on home soil. But he gifted his wicket to England after playing a poor shot off Dom Bess.
“It is his (Pant) natural game so we cannot restrict him much. He can’t be too defensive because by doing so he can get out quickly. It is good for his game that he keeps on playing his shots but, at times, he has to be very selective,” said Pujara after the game.
Pujara mentioned that a talented player like Pant would learn from his mistakes and work on them.
“He needs to understand which shots to play, which not. He needs to understand in which situation it is important that he stays in the crease. Balancing things out is the most important for him,” said Pujara, the latest Indian wall.
Pujara revealed that Pant always listens to the coaching staff and inculcate the good advice.
“He will learn from his mistakes. There are times when he can be little more patient and build another partnership with whoever is there in the crease. He is capable of putting the team first because whenever he bats longer, then we will always end up posting a big total. So, I am sure he will realise that.”
“… And then there are times when he also has to understand and the coaching staff always communicates with him that. He has to put the team first and be a little sensible at times. He has done that most of the times. There are times when he gets out and looks ugly.” Pujara added.
The pitch is still good for batting and Washington Sundar and Ravichandran Ashwin can put up a good partnership to bring the hosts on the track.
“There is a bit of spin now but I think it’s still a good pitch to bat on. First two days, it was really, really flat and our bowlers did a fantastic job. It was a pitch where there was not much assistance and we were expecting a little bit more from the surface. But we have to accept and move on,” he said.
“Batting wise, we could have batted better, there were some soft dismissals which didn’t go in our favour. The way I got out or Jinks got out… I felt those two wickets were crucial for us, but at the same time, we are still confident of doing well. Ash and Washington are both batting well, so we will just have to move on from here. Tomorrow, it will be the most crucial day for us.”
India finished at 257 for six at stumps on Day 3. England notched up 578 in their first innings.
