India Test mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara was among runs and probably at a time when the team needed him the most against England in the third Test in Leeds. The visitors were trailing by 354 runs when they began the proceedings in the second innings and lost opener KL Rahul after a steady start.
But Pujara who came in at number three showed a lot of intent and remained unbeaten at 91 at the end of day’s play. Talking about his batting, Rohit Sharma lauded the right-hander for the way he stitched his innings.
“Talking about his batting, yes he definitely came with an intent to score runs. This innings of ours was never about survival. We had the intent to score runs and Pujara clearly showed that,” Rohit said during the virtual press conference after the end of Day 3.
“The way he got off the mark and then carried on from there, anything loose, he was ready to pounce on it. It shows that he had intent in his batting and that really helps,” he added.
While Pujara had faced some criticism in the recent past for not scoring runs, Rohit said that there hasn’t been any discussion about his batting in the dressing room.
“The talks are only happening outside. Not a single conversation had happened with Pujara regarding his form inside the team dressing room,” Sharma said.
India are 139 runs behind in the second innings after they ended the proceedings on Day 3 at 215/2 with Pujara (91*) and Kohli (45*) still at the crease.
The Indian team is presently leading the five-match series 1-0 after they won the Lord’s Test.