Pujara doesn't want to curb Pant's 'natural game', but suggests to be 'selective'

India were already behind in the game as the English batsmen had made merry of a placid pitch at the Chepauk, but there were expectations from the Indian team as well to repeat what their counterparts achieved on the first two days of the Tests.

Openers failed to seize the opportunity although they were looking in supreme touch, and the wickets of Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane only made the matters worse for the hosts as English spinner Dominic Bess showed how the mountain of runs affects the mindset of a bowling attack.

When Rahane departed England spinners in Bess and Jack Leach were settling into a nice rhythm before the storm of Rishabh Pant arrived to defy the troubles India found themselves in and the game situation. 

He unleashed a calculative assault against the left-arm spin of Leach which could have ended in a disaster for both him and the team with them being so far behind in the game, but for Cheteshwar Pujara who has had the luxury of witnessing these assaults from the non-striker's' end never doubted the willpower of Pant to get at the top of England bowling attack and rather hailed his approach as a good development for the game.

However, the cool customer that Pujara is also urged caution to his teammate and asked him to be selective while continuing to be belligerent in his approach. He suggested Pant be mindful of game situations and balance his attacking mindset with sensible shot selection based on the quality of bowling and juncture of the game.

"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,"  Pujara said in the virtual press conference at the end of the third day's play.

"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."

Pant’s counterattacking innings made life easier for Pujara at the other end but there was always a question mark on the longevity of his onslaught and Pujara reckoned that he should recognize his potential of piling on big innings and helping the team put up a big total, instead of getting out in ‘ugly’ manners.

"He will learn from his mistakes. There are times when he can be a 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 little sensible at times. He has done that most of the times. There are times when gets out and looks ugly."

Indian batting efforts other than that of Pujara and Pant found wanting on the third day when England delayed declaration in order to make as many as they could to put them under pressure and Pujara too rued the soft dismissals from his teammates. 

Pujara himself was caught in a bizarre fashion after his pull shot deflected off Ollie Pope’s body only to be taken by Rory Burns and Pujara downplayed his and Rahane’s wicket which was achieved by the brilliance of Joe Root as unlucky dismissals.

India’s unbeaten batsmen-- Washington Sundar and Ravichandran Ashwin have had the reputation of being resilient as well as effective in the recent past and Pujara has placed high hopes on the duo to take the team in a forward direction on the fourth day of the Test match which he called ‘most crucial’ for his team.

"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,” Pujara added.

India conceded 578 on this pitch while England bowlers made life difficult for the Indian batsmen and Pujara said that the time his teammates were bowling, the pitch offered no assistance while it started to assist spinners on the third day.

"There is a bit of spin now but I think it's still a good pitch to bat on. The 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," Pujara opined.

India are still 321 runs behind England's first innings total of 578 runs, and their hopes of avoiding follow-on hinge on the last-recognized batting pair of Washington Sundar and Ashwin. If India manage to avoid getting bowled out before the follow-on mark, the task of saving this game will become far more difficult than forcing the tourists to bat again and then trying to save the game on the last day of the Test. 

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