Updated November 28th, 2021 at 11:31 IST
IND vs NZ: Fans predict 'it's end of road' for Cheteshwar Pujara after he departs on 22
Cheteshwar Pujara, India's Test specialist, has had another tough day on the field, being removed early after a promising start to his second inning.
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Cheteshwar Pujara, India's Test specialist, has had another tough day on the field, being removed early after a promising start to his second inning in the ongoing first Test match against New Zealand. Pujara lost his wicket in the 12th over on Day 4 of the first Test after he tried to score off a delivery by Kyle Jamieson and ended up giving a catch to the wicketkeeper. Pujara failed to keep his gloves away from the ball and had to depart for 22 off 33 balls. New Zealand were forced to go upstairs to claim the wicket of Pujara as the on-field umpire had given not out.
Meanwhile, Indian cricket fans are angry over the way Pujara handed up his wicket in the second innings, taking to social media to express their displeasure with the 33-year-old batter. A few others believe Pujara's time has come to hang up his boots, with some even forecasting an "end of the road" for the Saurashtra cricketer following the current series.
Pujara built his career as Rahul Dravid's successor and seems like he will end it during Dravid's stint as coach #INDvNZ
— Shubh Aggarwal (@shubh_chintak)
Is this the end of pujara? 😓
— Rdk 🇮🇳 🇮🇳 (@Rdk44517267)
So it's the end of the Wall Pujara.
— Chiku (@KohliisGoat)
Thank You Pujara.
Afraid that Pujara might be dropped in the next Test. And then, it's impossible for him to make the place again. I mean, I know he's not got a century since 1000+ days but he's played a number of crucial knocks in this period. A couple of unlucky dismissals as well 😓😩 #INDvNZ
— 🏏 (@keeper_batsman)
Also, note that the same cricket fans were earlier cheering Pujara for his improved strike rate when he was batting at 22 off only 33 balls, which is quite unusual for a right-handed batter. India's stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane is also receiving similar criticism for giving away his wicket cheaply. Rahane was dismissed by Ajaz Patel for just 4 runs.
Expect a 150 ball century from Pujara today. Will silence his critics.
— Ramachandran Mahesh (@zindadilmac)
Pujara playing with 65+ sr
— Monika (@Lostt_Soulll)
Pujara's SR😮
— Positive Entropy (@EntropyPositive)
Pujara playing in parallel universe
— Theone ♠️ (@12dhaval99999)
End of Pujara and rahane 😭😭
— Akshay (@Akshay_ict)
This should be the last test match for both Puji bhai and Rahane 😊
— Rahul Gogoi (@IamRahulGogoi)
India vs New Zealand
As far as the match is concerned, India are struggling to put up a target for New Zealand as the Ajinkya Rahane-led side is down by 5 wickets with just a 121-run lead at the time of writing this copy. India lost all but one of its top-order batters for just 51 runs. The hero from the first innings for India, debutant Shreyas Iyer is still intact in the middle but now he lacks support as he will have to bat with tailenders for the remainder of the innings.
Earlier, Indian bowlers managed to bowl the Kiwis out for 296 runs after posting a huge of 345 runs in their first innings. Apart from Axar and Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Umesh Yadav also picked a wicket each. With his three-wicket-haul Ashwin has now become the 14th highest wicket-taker in Test cricket.
Image: AP
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Published November 28th, 2021 at 11:31 IST