Watch: Cheteshwar Pujara gets stumped out in the warm-up game against County Select XI
India's Cheteshwar Pujara is one of those players who is extremely decisive with his footwork and is even more cautious whenever he advances down the track. His finesse against the spinners is well-known, and the fact that he was stumped out only once thus far in his international Test career adds weight to the argument.
However, in the warm-up game against County Select XI, Cheteshwar Pujara was involved in a rare stump-out. Pujara was batting on 21 when off-spinner Jack Carson bowled a slightly flighted delivery just outside the off-stump.
India's number three tried to advance down the track to counter the turn but ended up leaving a slight gap between his bat and pad. The extra bounce on offer didn't help his cause either as the ball went through the narrow opening. Wicket-keeper James Rew was spot-on with his glovework, and the 17-year-old whipped off the bails in a jiffy to send Cheteshwar Pujara back to the pavilion.
Watch the video of the dismissal here:
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At the end of the first session on Day-1, India finished with 80/3 and lost the wickets of Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal apart from that of Pujara.
A tough road ahead for Cheteshwar Pujara
The upcoming five-match Test series against England is crucial for Cheteshwar Pujara. The 33-year-old has struggled with the bat in recent times and is under the pump at the moment.
In his last 20 Test innings, Cheteshwar Pujara could only manage to accrue 527 runs at an average of 26.35 and didn't have a century to his name. His performances overseas haven't been up to the mark, given that he has struggled in New Zealand, England and Australia.
His numbers in the last 6 Test innings in India aren't good either. He has only scored 133 runs this year while playing at home, and his average is just 22.16.
Cheteshwar Pujara couldn't contribute in the recent World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand, scoring only 23 runs in two innings. If India has to make an impact in the upcoming games in England, his performances will be key, and he'll be hopeful of turning things around, at least from here.