Rajkot: After playing a knock of 102 against Pakistan at the Eden Gardens in November 2007, former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly had said that no cricketer’s dream is complete until he gets to a three-figure knock on his home ground – the place he grew up on. Cheteshwar Pujara must have felt the same way as he scored a ton against England at his home city of Rajkot and at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium which was hosting its first ever Test match. It couldn’t have been a better Friday for the fans.
Pujara (124, 206b, 17×4) and Murali Vijay (126, 301b, 9×4, 4×6) saw to it that India took a major step in at least ensuring a draw for the hosts as they ended day three here on 319 for four, just 19 runs adrift the follow-on target. England had earlier scored 537 in their first innings.
Pujara’s ninth and Vijay’s seventh Test hundreds dashed whatever aspirations England may have had after the early dismissal of Gautam Gambhir (29). The two batted with supreme confidence and denied England any further success till well after the tea break. The two put on 209 runs for the second wicket on a pitch where batting, if not extremely, was quite difficult at times, with variable bounce and pace.
England fought back late in the day by dismissing Pujara, Vijay and night-watchman Amit Mishra in the last hour. However, skipper Virat Kohli (26 batting) looked cool and composed during his tenure at wicket.
Pujara was out chasing a wide ball from Ben Stokes while Vijay and Mishra were dismissed by Adil Rashid and Zafar Ansari respectively. But unless India suffer a dramatic collapse, the game looks headed for a tame draw.
The Rajkot-born Pujara was the more aggressive batsman during the second-wicket stand. Vijay was content to play the second fiddle and the two brought up their sixth three-figure stand. Their running between the wickets and understanding of the situation was an indicator of how the two jell.
Both Vijay and Pujara however, had their moments of luck. Vijay, when on 66, was dropped off Stuart Broad when he was on 66 and then the DRS came to Pujara’s help when he was 14 short of his hundred.
Pujara’s attacking instincts helped India add 99 runs in the first session in 30 overs, before some tight bowling by England restricted the scoring. The hosts eventually put on just 66 runs in 29 overs in the middle session to tea.
The beautifully crafted innings saw Pujara play some superb drives, cuts and flicks during his 298-minute stay. He finally fell when England skipper Alastair Cook picked up the slash off Stokes at slip. Vijay on the other hand, fell five minutes from stumps. A Rashid googly spat venomously off the pitch and the batsman could only glove it to a waiting Haseeb Hamid at forward short-leg.
Press Trust of India
