"Blind broadcasters!"- Fans rage after Cheteshwar Pujara receives Player of the series award over Shreyas Iyer after India white-wash Bangladesh
Indian cricket fans expressed their displeasure after the match as broadcasters overlooked Shreyas Iyer and went with Cheteshwar Pujara while selecting the player of the series award winner against Bangladesh on Sunday.
After finding themselves in a tense situation in the fourth innings, Team India eventually scraped their way to the target in the morning session on day 4, December 25, to edge out Bangladesh narrowly at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka.
With sensible knocks on a wearing pitch, Ravichandran Ashwin (42*) and Shreyas Iyer (29*) held their composure in a crunch situation and helped India reach the winning shores. The duo came together with 74/7 on the scoreboard and rescued India with their unbeaten 71-run match-winning partnership.
Ravichandran Ashwin won the player of the match award as he picked up six wickets across the Test match and played a crucial knock in the fourth innings after absorbing pressure. Fans had no reservations about this pick but were unhappy to see Cheteshwar Pujara selected as the player of the series ahead of Shreyas Iyer.
Both the Indian batters enjoyed a great series with the bat. Cheteshwar Pujara scored 222 runs in two matches and topped the run charts, while Shreyas Iyer finished second with a tally of 202 runs.
Fans argued that Shreyas deserved the player of the series award more as he scored runs consistently whenever India found themselves in troubling situations. Here are some of the Twitter reactions to the matter:
"It's been a great series"- Cheteshwar Pujara after receiving the player of the series award
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Cheteshwar Pujara reflected on the series and acknowledged that it went well for him. He also shed some light on the hard yards he has put in first-class cricket this season to regain his mojo and get back to his scoring ways.
The Saurashtra batter said:
"It's been a great series. The last game was very competitive. Personally I've been working hard on my game and I wanted a big one. Really pleased with the way things are going. I feel I've found my rhythm. A lot of hard work has been put in to get these runs. I've played a lot of first-class games."
Cheteshwar Pujara added:
"Every Test is important for the WTC, you can't relax in any Test. Looking at the situation we have to win each and every Test match. You have to be on top of the game and for that you have to play first-class cricket and stay in touch with the game."
Team India's next assignment in Test cricket is the Border-Gavaskar series at home against Australia in February.