India vs England 3rd Test: A familiar Cheteshwar Pujara resurfaces in time of crisis

Leeds, August 28: The third day of the third Test was when India needed Cheteshwar Pujara the most. They had conceded a massive 354-run lead, leaving England miles ahead at the Headingley.

But the events that preceded the innings of unbeaten 91, were hardly indicated the resurfacing of a familiar Pujara. He had gone without a fifty in 12 innings as his last 50-plus score was against the same opponents at Chennai earlier this year.

And if you take 100 as a yardstick, the right-hander has not scored one in the last 29 innings, as his last three-figure knock was a 193 against Australia at Sydney in January 2019.

This is a serious gap for a batsman of Pujara's quality. And let's don't kid ourselves, there might have been some pressure on him to deliver. After all, an average of 28 is not what you expect from the No 3 batsman between that Sydney knock and the second innings at Leeds.

And England is not an ideal place for a batsman who is trying to get back among runs as conditions and a set of bowlers who know how to exploit those conditions can make his life hell.

Pujara, but, was precisely in that position. First up, he had to tackle his nemesis James Anderson, a bowler who has dismissed him 10 times in Test cricket and 8 of those dismissals have come in England. Anderson has been in fine fettle throughout this series.

Pujara had already received a reminder of Anderson's skill in this series, falling to him twice including that brilliant incoming ball at Trent Bridge that forced him to play and edge. So, it seemed a matter of time before the great Lancastrian consume Pujara.

However, Pujara was fortunate to walk into a Headingley pitch that has been eased out since that first day. It happens often in Test cricket. Even during the toughest series against the toughest opposition batsmen will get that comfort pitch where they can score a few runs.

But still he had to put away the balls. Here, Pujara was blessed with three balls on his pads in the first 15 balls he faced, and all of them strangely by Anderson. Pujara flicked all three balls for four.

This was a luxury Pujara was not accorded previously as the pace bowlers had started attacking him on the stumps or just outside the off-stump more regularly, snapping a major supply line of runs and forcing him to take some undue risks to score.

Another time at Leeds, he was offered sufficient width on the off-side to unfurl his cuts, another feeder line of runs for him. Here, Pujara lapped up all those offerings and that he often outpaced Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli tells the story of his innings.

Rohit, who partnered Pujara for 82 runs during the second wicket stand, stressed on that, the intention to score runs and not to get bogged down irrespective of the match situation and the quality the opposition brings in.

"He (Pujara) definitely came with an intent to score runs. This innings was never about survival. Our intent was to score runs, and Pujara clearly showed that. The way he got off the mark and then carried on from there. Anything loose, he was ready to pounce," said Rohit.

"With Pujara we have seen over the years that he is a very disciplined batter. Yes, of late runs haven't come but that doesn't mean that quality of Pujara has gone missing. It was not the easiest situation to bat when you are 300 behind. The way he batted shows the character and mindset of the individual. Somebody who has gone everywhere and scored," Rohit added.

Rohit, too is not a stranger to barren spells with the bat. He admitted Pujara has not scored too many runs recently but chipped in the hours of necessity.

"If you talk about his recent performance, yes he has not scored runs but we saw a crucial partnership between him and Ajinkya at Lord's. Not to forget what he did in Australia. Those were crucial innings for us while winning that historic Test series in Australia. We tend to forget. Our memories are a little bit short. We need to think about what the guy has done over the years. It is not about one or two innings or one or two series."

But as mentioned earlier, a modest run in the last 29 innings was certainly on Pujara's face. It was his nightmare to come out. Was there a boardroom talk with Pujara as the recent rumours suggested? Was an ultimatum given to Pujara?

"To be honest there hasn't been any talk about Pujara's batting or form inside the dressing room. I think the talks are only happening outside. We know the quality he brings, we know the experience he brings. When you have a guy like that, I don't think there needs to be much discussion," he said in the virtual press conference.

But the job has not done yet. India is still trailing by 139 runs. Anderson will return with a brand new Duke ball and Virat Kohli's side will require Pujara to further his stay.

"From his perspective, he batted really well, but the team's job is not done yet. We have got a crucial couple of days coming. Hopefully, he can put his head down and keep batting the way he does," said Rohit.

Rohit will not be the only one hoping for it.