Cheteshwar Pujara ready to face 'bullets' for team; reveals why he's called ‘the rock'

Cheteshwar Pujara, like many of the Indian cricket fans, still remembers the historic Test series victory against Australia last year, where India won 2-1 in a five-match series. In a recent chat with the BBC's Test Match Special podcast, Pujara opened about the problems India had to deal with a lot of injuries. During the famous Down Under series, Pujara recalled that he was hit multiple times by the ball and therefore, he was called 'the rock'.

Pujara said that he had to face the 'bullet' and that being a top-order batsman for India, especially overseas takes a lot of guts, patience, and temperament. 

"There are times when you need to face the bullet. If you are batting at the top of the order for the Indian team, especially overseas, you need to have a lot of guts. You need to have lots of patience and temperament. There are some innings where I had to take the bullet and that’s why they call me the 'Rock'," said Pujara.

He then talked about how difficult it was to judge the bounce of the ball and he was taking hits to his body to try and save his wicket.

"It was difficult to judge the bounce of the ball. And there were balls which were hitting my body. I just told myself that even if it hits my body, I will keep my hands down. I don’t want the ball to hit my gloves or bat. And that was mainly the game plan for any that was bowled short of back of a length," explained Pujara.

India vs England first Test abandoned owing to rain

The opening Test between India and England at the Trent Bridge in Nottingham was poised for an exciting finish. For the first four days, both teams had their moments, but it was India, who had their noses slightly ahead after the closing of play on the fourth day. The visitors needed 157 runs to win with nine wickets in hand. KL Rahul, their top-scorer in the first innings, was already back in the pavilion.

To start with, it was up to Rohit Sharma and Pujara to guide India off to a win. With the ball seaming around, the Brits’ bowlers would have fancied their chances as well. However, amidst all the excitement and thrill around the last day’s play, the weather gods had other plans. Not a single ball could be bowled on the day as the rain ended up playing spoilsport on Super Sunday.

Due to the rain, the first match of the 2021-23 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle ended in a draw. At around 15:30 local time, it stopped raining, but 15 minutes later, the heavens again opened up. A while later at 15:50 local time, the match officials threw in their towels. The groundsmen tried their hearts out, but the match had to be abandoned, leading to an anticlimactic ending. 

IND vs ENG second Test match

The second match of the IND vs ENG Test series will be hosted by Lord's from August 12 to 16. After a gap of almost 10 days, the two teams will be back in action for the third game at the Emerald Headingley from August 25 to 29. The final two Tests (September 2-6 & 10-14) will be held at London's Kia Oval and the Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester respectively. 

(Image Credits: @cheteshwar1 - Twitter)