Cheteshwar Pujara exclusive – ‘England was the toughest to score in’

Batting, for him, was more meditation than merely facing the ball. To survive 525 deliveries in a single innings on a difficult surface was a marathon effort that demanded immense concentration. But Cheteshwar Pujara was different – perhaps the last of the classical stylists whose game was tailor-made for Test cricket. He displayed that across the cricketing world, most notably in Australia.

As Pujara bids adieu to the game, Cricbuzz had him reflect on his greatest knocks, marathon stays at the crease, and the toughest opponents he faced. Excerpts…

If you were suddenly asked to look back, which Test or innings would come to your mind first?

Well, the innings I remember most fondly was the 145 against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka. It was an unbeaten knock, and I was asked to open the innings. It was an important match – the third Test with the series tied one-all – and it was a tough pitch to bat on. I hadn’t played the first-two Tests, so I remember that innings very fondly.

The 123 at Adelaide in 2018 was also very important. It was the first Test of the series, and we won both that Test and the series for the first time on Australian soil. That is also one of my most memorable Test innings.

Another one would be the 92 against Australia in 2017 in Bengaluru. We had lost the first Test in Pune, and we were in trouble in the second Test. I had a good partnership with Ajinkya Rahane in the second innings, and that knock was crucial.

You mentioned your best innings was against Sri Lanka, but whenever people talk about you, they often bring up your performances against Australia. How do you see that contrast?

I also forgot to mention the 56 in the second innings at the Gabba Test in 2021. That was one of the most memorable series, considering the kind of match it was and the pitch we were playing on. It was a very difficult surface, with extra and awkward bounce from one end, and I ended up facing more deliveries from that end. Against that bowling lineup, in those circumstances, it felt very challenging. I got hit on the body many times.

I stuck to my strategy of not playing at the ball and instead taking it on my body. It worked out really well. In that process, I even broke my finger. But all the pain was worth it in the end because we won the game.

If you look at that series, there were so many injuries and so many players missing from the playing XI for different reasons. Despite that, the team we had – especially the young players who got an opportunity – really stepped up. Players like (Mohammed) Siraj, Washington (Sundar), Shardul (Thakur), and (T) Natarajan came in and performed really well. We came together collectively as a team, and that made it one of the most memorable series as well.

Sydney and Gabba and those body blows of 2021… Can you elaborate?

See, when you get hit on the body so many times, you tend to lose confidence. You feel the pain, because getting hit once or twice is something every cricketer or sportsperson can handle – it’s normal, it happens in the game. But when it happens frequently, that’s when the real challenge starts. If you are not mentally tough, you tend to give away your wicket, play a rash shot, or just give up.

For me, how it happened that day is very tough to describe. I believe in God, I follow a routine, and I do my prayers every day. I believe in a superpower, and that belief gives me strength to handle difficult situations. Because if I’m very honest, it wasn’t easy out there in the middle. But I didn’t quit. And did I do it only because of my own power? No way.

As a human being, it is very tough. If I am put in that same situation again, will I be able to do it? I don’t know. But at that time, it happened. It can only happen when you trust your ability, and at the same time, you feel there is an external force helping you in some way. That’s why I believe it was possible.

You had a special liking for Australian pacers, didn’t you?

Yeah, I love playing against tough opponents. Australia has always been a challenging side. They never allow you to win games easily. Even if victory is very near, they make you work hard for your runs. So when you are playing against such a tough opponent, you need to be mentally and physically strong, and also very well prepared for your game.

Whatever preparation you do before the series always helps you. If you are not well prepared, they will test you – your technique, your temperament, and even with their sledging. That’s why I love that challenge.

Fortunately, I made my debut against Australia (in October 2010 in Bengaluru), so I knew from an early age what to expect from them. And yes, when you are tested against tough opponents, you learn how to come out on top. That success mantra, I would say, I learned at an early age, and it has helped me perform well against the Aussies.

It wasn’t just against the Australian pacers – your technique against spin was equally impeccable. You even managed to neutralise Nathan Lyon. How did you approach that challenge?

Playing spin has always been my strength. I play most of my matches at Rajkot, and there we usually play on turning tracks. Also, I played a lot of first-class cricket in India. Both before and after my debut, I played many games. I also played Times Shield for Indian Oil, which participates in different tournaments across India. So when you play a lot of club games on different pitches in India, you learn a lot about how to tackle spin bowling. You need to find your own method.

For me, that method was precise footwork and stepping out of the crease to unsettle the bowler’s length. I did that really well from an early age, and that became my strength. Against off-spinners, it is slightly easier because most of the deliveries come in.

And Nathan Lyon didn’t have the delivery to beat me on the outside edge, since the majority of his balls were drifting in. That’s why I used that technique. In Australia, he kept bowling that slightly shorter length, where even if you stepped out, you couldn’t quite get on top of the ball. Off the ones where I couldn’t reach the top, I made sure he wasn’t able to bowl into that rough outside off stump.

On tougher pitches, I felt that if I just stayed in the crease, he would have the advantage of getting me out. But if I stepped out, it would disturb his length. And whether I was playing an attacking shot or a defensive one, it would unsettle him.

You said one has to find one’s own technique to counter spin. Yours was almost a textbook, especially in this era of DRS. How did you develop that?

Yes, in a way! Look, some players – because of DRS – prefer to play the sweep and reverse sweep. But you need to be very precise with that. You have to choose the right line and length to play the sweep shot, so it’s a slightly risky option. But if you are using your feet, with DRS, once you step out of the equation, you can’t be given out LBW. That is very helpful.

As I was mentioning earlier, one has to find one’s own method. It’s not just about stepping out. Some players who are good at playing the sweep and reverse sweep stick to that. Every player has his own individual strength. And as long as they stick to that, they can be successful against spin.

More than 500 (525) balls in an innings (vs Australia in Ranchi in 2017)… what does it require?

It requires a lot of commitment. It requires a lot of patience. It also requires you to look at the team’s goal. For me, at that point in time, it was important to ensure that I didn’t get out and that I kept batting for as long as possible (he scored 202) to make sure India didn’t lose that game. To secure a win for the team – although we didn’t end up winning – we were in a position to do so (the Test ended in a draw).

To make that possible, I had to make sure we didn’t allow Australia to make a comeback. That’s why I carried on batting for as long as I could. Once you’re set, you feel like playing more shots. But it was a situation where it was very hard to score runs. If you defended well, you could survive.

I remember there was an important partnership with Wriddhiman Saha in that game. Facing more than 500 balls came down to the commitment I had towards the team. It also came from the experience of playing a lot of first-class games. Having scored double hundreds in first-class cricket gives you the confidence that you can do it at the highest level as well.

You are often described as a batter with patience, grit, and determination. What’s the secret behind those qualities?

I started playing for Saurashtra at an early age, when the team was slightly on the weaker side. I still remember those Under-14 days – whenever I scored a hundred and then got out, the team would often be bowled out for 220-230. Sometimes even 180-190.

I would score the majority of the runs in that game, and yet we would still end up losing. After that, I realised that scoring just a hundred was not good enough for the team. I had to score big hundreds. So I started aiming for 150s, double hundreds, even triple hundreds in junior cricket-whether it was Under-14, Under-16, or Under-19. That’s how I developed the habit of having patience, discipline, and determination to score big runs.

That habit carried on into the Ranji Trophy as well. At that time, Saurashtra was in the Plate Division. After I made my debut, we got promoted to the Elite Division, and slowly things started to fall into place. But I realised that if I was playing for a slightly weaker team, just scoring a hundred wasn’t enough.

You had to score big runs to give the team a chance to win. That’s how the habit started, and it carried on. Eventually, Saurashtra became a stronger unit. But once you create a good habit, it stays with you for a long time.

Sanjay Manjrekar said you are like a monk at the crease.

Yeah, I think he is absolutely right with that statement. Because when you are batting out there, you are in a meditative zone. You are just trying to stay in the present – not worrying about what happened on the last delivery, and not thinking ahead to what might happen on the next one. You are simply there, in the moment, with no unnecessary thoughts. It’s a meditative state that allows you to reach peak concentration. And yes, that has helped me a lot.

Which of the SENA countries was the most difficult place to score?

Well, I haven’t played a lot of matches in New Zealand, so I can’t say much about it. Yes, New Zealand has been challenging, but overall, I think England has been the toughest – especially when they used to produce those green-top pitches with (James) Anderson and (Stuart) Broad in their bowling lineup. I would say England is one of the toughest places to play when you end up on a seaming track.

Which bowler or bowlers troubled you most?

You were talking about international cricket – well, it was Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel at their peak. Facing them in South African conditions was very challenging. Also, Jimmy Anderson in English conditions, when he was at his best, getting a lot of movement in the air and even off the pitch. And then someone like Pat Cummins has also been very challenging to face in international cricket. Although I’ve had decent success against him, he is still one of the most difficult bowlers I’ve faced.

Do you see yourself as the last of the classical Test batsmen in this era of Bazball and T20 influence?

It would be very hard for me to make that statement about myself. But yes, I see that most players these days are picked from the T20 or ODI format into Test cricket. So, you can’t expect them to play the way I played, or the way players from my generation and the one before did.

Things have changed in the modern era. Players are now coming into the Test squad through white-ball cricket, and that has created a shift. That’s why I think they stick to their strengths of playing aggressive cricket. At the same time, they are also trying to find the right balance. They understand the importance of defending, of leaving the ball, and of playing according to the situation. But their natural game is stroke play, and they are not trying to change that – which is a positive thing.

I developed my game in a certain way, and that’s why I carried on playing like that. My game was built on defense, and whenever there was a ball to hit, I played it on merit. But now it’s the other way around. Players are naturally a lot more positive because of the white-ball formats. Their natural game is aggressive, and they stick to that, while adding defensive skills to complement it.