India’s Test specialist, Cheteshwar Pujara revealed he is looking forward to performing against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, stating he always gets motivated whenever he gets the opportunity to play against the heavyweights. Pujara would likely feature at No. 3 for India in the Nagpur Test, starting February 9.

Aiming to cement their place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, the Indian team needs to register a series win over Australia for a record-extending fourth time in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at home. Under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, Team India will be in no mood of taking things lightly, with Jasprit Bumrah being the only regular to be sidelined due to injury.

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On the other hand, the visiting team will be missing their premier pacers – Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. In a recent conversation with Indian Express, talismanic India batter Cheteshwar Pujara opened up about his preparations for the series. Pujara was monumental in India’s recent tour of Bangladesh, where he top-scored with 222 runs in four innings at an average of 74.

Most runs in Border-Gavaskar Trophy (Active players):
Cheteshwar Pujara – 1893 runs @ 54.08
Steve Smith – 1742 runs @ 72.58
Virat Kohli – 1682 runs @ 48.05
David Warner – 1148 runs @ 33.76

who among these four will be the highest run-scorer during the upcoming series? pic.twitter.com/MDJyHgzNjW

— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) February 5, 2023

The 35-year-old would be eager to carry on the momentum, even though the upcoming opponents, despite missing a few familiar faces, would be much more challenging than his previous outings.

During a recent chat with Indian Express, Cheteshwar Pujara said, “I feel Australia is always a tough team to beat and they are competitive on the field across any conditions. Also, there is a lot of verbal talk going around when you play against them and they will always come at you.”

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He further added, “To come over it, you need to be mentally tough and you need to have that fighting attitude. And when the opposition is good, you would like to be better than them and I’m always motivated to perform. I don’t need extra motivation when you are playing, but when a team like Australia is always after me and wants to throw a challenge at me, I want to accept it and overcome it.”

Pujara’s record against Australia is quite impressive, averaging 54.08 after 37 innings while scoring 1,893 runs.