[Watch] "Our roles have reversed now" - Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara relive their brilliant partnership
Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara relived their sumptuous 153-run partnership that brought India into a comfortable position in the 4th Test against England. While the former recorded his first overseas ton: a 256-ball 127, the latter made a positive 61.
In a video shared by the BCCI, both players can be seen receiving adulation and a standing ovation from skipper Virat Kohli and teammates during the tea break. Both players then sat down for a candid chat where Rohit Sharma, talking about Cheteshwar Pujara's brisk start, lightly remarked that their roles in the team had been 'reversed'. You can watch the full video here.
Sharma said:
"The role has been reversed a little bit. Normally, I like to play the shots and get off to the scoreboard quickly and you take time, the roles have reversed now. But I am happy, I am happy to play as many balls as possible. That was for me the biggest challenge on this tour because runs and shots will come as long as you spend time in the middle, get a feel of the pitch, bowlers, conditions, runs will come."
In turn, Cheteshwar Pujara thanked Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul for blunting the new ball and making it slightly easier for him to play his shots from the get go. He said:
"It was a good start (chuckles). Thanks to you guys, the ball was old and I could play my shots. It was slightly easier to bat in that session."
"Hopefully, we get many more such innings" - Cheteshwar Pujara
While wishing Rohit Sharma luck for many more tons, Cheteshwar Pujara also expressed his hope to be a part of more partnerships with the Mumbai batsman. He remarked:
"I'm really pleased that we got a 100-run partnership as well. Hopefully we get many more such innings going forward. Really, really well played Rohit, congratulations and I hope that you have many more hundreds like this."
India are now well placed at 270-3, and need to bat a few more hours on an innocuous pitch to enjoy an unassailable position in the final two days. Virat Kohli will start day four at 22 alongside Ravindra Jadeja at 9.