"The way KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma are playing, it gives a lot of confidence to the players coming in to bat" - Cheteshwar Pujara
Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara's half-century and his potentially match-defining partnership with Rohit Sharma proved vital as India enter Day 5 of the Oval Test against England with a good chance of victory. Pujara made up for his first-innings failure by scoring an excellent fifty in the second.
The Test specialist joined Rohit Sharma after James Anderson dismissed KL Rahul for 46, ending an 83-run opening stand. The duo took full advantage of the helpful conditions and scored runs at a brisk rate, stitching 153 runs together.
Speaking to Sky Sports at the end of Day 3, Cheteshwar Pujara admitted it was a crucial partnership. But the Saurashtra batsman first paid tribute to the openers for helping other batsmen gain confidence by doing well at the top.
"It was an important partnership, but I think credit goes to the openers, the way they gave us a good start. The way KL and Rohit are playing it gives a lot of confidence to the players coming in to bat. The ball wasn't doing much, the conditions were good to bat and play some shots."
We spoke about building a partnership and keep the scoreboard moving: Cheteshwar Pujara
Amid batting-friendly conditions, Pujara revealed he and Rohit Sharma decided to bat positively and string together a partnership. The right-handed batsman was glad that things went as planned and the pair lasted a very long time.
"So, I went into bat, I spoke to Rohit. We spoke about building a partnership and keep the scoreboard moving. So, that's how the session between lunch and tea went. We batted well and it was a very good partnership."
Rohit Sharma scored his first overseas Test hundred and perished for 127, while Pujara departed for 61. Both players were successive victims of the second new ball, but Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja calmed the storm on Day 3.
India went on to dominate the England bowlers on Day 4, finishing on 466 in their second innings. Shardul Thakur starred once again with a 60-run knock while Rishabh Pant scored his first half-century of the tour.
England ended Day 4 on 77/0 with Haseeb Hameed (43 not out) and Rory Burns (31 not out) at the crease. They require 291 runs to win on the final day, while India will need 10 wickets.