With his phlegmatic and dogged mindset, Cheteshwar Pujara had broken down Australians in the last historic Test series victory at their home. He tested the patience of one of the strong bowling attacks, which also has to surrender against him. Being the wall for India, he scored 521 runs in four innings at an average of 74.43 in the series and was honoured with a player of the series.
Speaking in a recent conversation to reporters, Josh Hazlewood, who was a part of Test series 2018-19, also reckons that Pujara was the difference-maker in that tour. He recalled that the 32-year-old kept the hold of strike sessions after sessions and the bowlers were left tired as they had to go without breaks.
“I think what you saw last time (2018-19 series) was the bowlers not getting enough rest between innings. Pujara faced a lot of balls and in a long series, that’s the batman’s goal, not only to score runs in that Test but also keep the frontline attack of the opposition out on the field for as long as possible,” said Hazlewood.
Josh Hazlewood Hopes Australia Could Tearaway Indian Bowlers:
Josh Hazlewood stated that India got the benefit because the host was worn out during the Melbourne Test. He hopes that Australia could this time keep the Indian bowlers longer in the field as Cheteshwar Pujara did.
“You get the benefits of that later in the series which is exactly what happened last time around. We spent a lot of time in the field in Melbourne. We sort of rested in between before getting into the Sydney Test. Hopefully, we can spring that around this time and keep the Indian bowlers out on the field for as long as possible and reap those benefits later in the series,”Josh Hazlewood maintained.
The much-awaited Test series will be on December 17 when the two teams will play their first-ever pink-ball Test in Adelaide. Melbourne will host the Boxing Day Test match while Sydney and Brisbane will host the last two Test matches of the series.