The Indian top-order batter, Cheteshwar Pujara, has highlighted a mistake in planning for the touring pacers against the middle-order aggressive batter of Australia, Travis Head, during the first innings of the second Adelaide day-night Test in the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, especially when the batter was fresh in the middle.
Cheteshwar Pujara was not impressed with the plan of the Indian bowlers, who went wide and looked to find the outside edge of the blade, but the aggressive approach of Travis Head saw the home side getting the momentum in their side as he clubbed a few consistent boundaries to keep them ahead in the contest.
Head finished with a knock of 140 runs at a strike rate of just below 100, with the help of 17 boundaries and four sixes, as the 2023 WTC champions grabbed a lead of over 150 runs going into the second innings of the encounter.
“Head’s weakness is short-pitched deliveries, which is well known to the opposition. But we only saw three short-pitched deliveries to him. They could have been used more effectively.” Cheteshwar Pujara has expressed this while analyzing the face-off on Star Sports at the end of the second day’s play.
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“He dominates the offside, so we could have curbed his offside stroke-making, and instead of a 6-3 (offside-onside), a 5-4 field placement would have been a good ploy against Head.” The right-handed batter added.
Cheteshwar Pujara addresses the reason behind Indian batter’s struggle against pink ball
The left-handed batter has always enjoyed batting against India in the longest format of the game, having smashed 955 runs in 12 innings at an average of around 48 with a strike rate of over 63, shouldering on a couple of centuries and four half-centuries.
The South Australian batter has also been in ominous touch against the Blue Brigade across formats since the start of 2023, having collected 1052 runs in 19 innings at an average of around 62, with four fifties and three centuries. In the same period, Head has gathered only 1875 runs in 54 innings against the other opponents at an average of below 37, with ten half-centuries and three centuries.
Cheteshwar Pujara has also admitted that the inexperience of the Indian batters against the pink ball was one of the major reasons behind their collapse. The Indian team is playing a day-night Test after nearly four years, with the last one also coming at the same ground in BGT 2020-21 when they could add 36 runs in their second innings.
India was enjoying a very good time in the first innings at 69/1 in the 19th over before they lost their next five wickets for just 40 runs on the board. The new batters hardly had any clue about facing the Australian bowlers.
“The batters played too late, with most of them getting out because of their inexperience with the pink ball. They should have discussed in the team meeting when to score runs and when to play defensively. If 2-3 wickets had fallen today, there could have been a comeback chance, but now it’s very difficult.” Cheteshwar Pujara shed light.
The veteran claimed that the counterattack of Rishabh Pant in the second innings was very crucial. They lost their first half of the batting order for just 105 runs, including the back of Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
“Pant’s counterattack was necessary and unsettled (Scott) Boland with his range of shots. He picked the length well, a good strategy. However, he will have a big responsibility. If this partnership reaches 100 or more, India will have a chance.” Cheteshwar Pujara concluded.