IND v AUS 2020: 'No regret in the way we batted today' - Cheteshwar Pujara
Indian Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara believes there is no reason to regret the way the Men in Blue batted on day one of the pink-ball Test at Adelaide.
The Australian bowlers were disciplined in their line and length, which prohibited the Indian batsmen from scoring freely.
India could only muster 41 runs in the first session and 66 runs in the second session. Many felt that they needed to be a bit more aggressive in the second session, as run-scoring was not going to be easy under the lights.
But Pujara explained it was important for them to build a good foundation and justified their approach of batting patiently.
"Not at all, see we were in a very good position. So I don't think you can have any such strategy where you just want to score in first two sessions and when the ball is swinging, you just want to be defensive. I feel if we had more wickets in hand, even when they took the second new ball, we would have got enough runs. So strategy wise I don't think there is any regret the way we batted today," Cheteshwar Pujara said in a video-conference after the end of day's play.
Patience is crucial in Test cricket: Cheteshwar Pujara
Cheteshwar Pujara walked out to bat after India lost Prithvi Shaw in the first over of the day. Batting patiently, Pujara didn't let the Australian bowlers run through the Indian line-up.
With great resilience, he nullified the effect of the new ball and formed a crucial partnership of 68 with skipper Virat Kohli.
He believes it was important for him to stay at the crease and not try and be overly aggressive, as there was a lot of help on offer for the bowlers. His 43 runs came off 160 balls and his calm presence helped the likes of Kohli to play himself in.
Pujara yet again proved how crucial he was to the Indian team in red-ball cricket.
"Patience is very crucial in Test cricket because you bat according to the situation. Many times where there is no help for the bowlers in the wicket, you can play aggressively. But on a wicket like today's, patience is required and you cannot play more shots. This because your team needs a good start and when you get a good start, there is a good total on the board, " Cheteshwar Pujara said.
Team India ended the first day on 233-6. They will be hopeful of adding some valuable runs down the order with Ravichandran Ashwin and Wriddhiman Saha still at the crease.
The closer they get to the 300-run mark, the better it will be for them.