The Indian Test specialist, Cheteshwar Pujara shown immense grit and resilience during the fourth innings of the Gabba Test, but he was also tested by the Australian bowlers still he managed to score a crucial half-century, laying the foundation for India’s historic win. Despite suffering some body blows, Pujara stuck to his game plan and tired out the Australia bowlers for close to two sessions.

Talking about his match-defining knock during a chat with Hindustan Times, Cheteshwar Pujara said, “Also, with the finger injury, it wasn’t easy for me to bat. I was in some pain. This happened during one of the practice sessions in Melbourne. When I was batting in Sydney and Brisbane, it wasn’t easy to grip the bat properly. When I got hit again at Brisbane, there was more pain. I had to grip the bat with four fingers. It wasn’t natural. “

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Pujara said given the match situation he didn’t want to give away his wicket to the Australian bowlers and allow them to put India’s middle-order under pressure. Pujara acknowledged that he is not the best player of a pull shot, hence decided not to go after the bowlers and get out in the process.

Talking about Team India’s plan on the final day, Cheteshwar Pujara said, “In the second innings that I was playing, taking it on wasn’t a great option, considering the match situation. My pull-shot is not one of the best. It’s not that I can’t play a pull shot, but I wouldn’t risk it at that point of time. The way the game was positioned, my wicket had more value than getting a couple of boundaries. Also, defending the ball or getting on top of the bounce was risky.”

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Pujara had scored a gritty knock of 56 runs came off 244 balls in the fourth innings as India chased down a 328-run total to complete a remarkable turnaround and clinch the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2-1.