Legendary Indian cricketer, Sunil Gavaskar was seen showering praises at Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara, saying the two senior batsmen used all their experience to put on a crucial partnership when the team needed it the most in Lord’s against England in the 2nd Test. Sunil Gavaskar highlighted that both Pujara and Rahane were under pressure in the lead up to the Lord’s Test, adding that questions were asked about their place in the team.
Rahane and Pujara were witnessing a lean patch, as they were registering single-digit scores in the earlier innings of the series. However, they delivered when the team needed them the most as India was reeling at 55 for 3 in the 2nd innings at Lord’s as they lost their openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, and skipper Virat Kohli in quick succession.
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Talking about them during a chat on Sony Sports, Sunil Gavaskar said, “They did (play a crucial role). Both of them are what you call low-profile players and not high-profile players. They don’t get the attention that some others do. It may be because of the style of play or whatever but they are invaluable to the team and they brought all their experience to play.”
He further added, “They hadn’t scored runs in the first Test. So it was clear that they were under pressure. They hadn’t scored runs in the first innings as well. There were a lot of questions asked about their place in the team and they responded in the only way they can, by stitching together a partnership when it was most needed. India was only 28 runs ahead and had lost their best batsmen Virat Kohli when these two came together. Fabulous effort.”
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India eventually reached a total of 298 for 8 and declared the innings after setting up the target of 272 runs for England. Mohammed Shami (56) and Jasprit Bumrah (34) stitched an unbeaten partnership of 89 runs for the 9th wicket on Day 5 to box England out of the contest. India pacers unleashed their best on Monday as England were bundled out for 120 in their final innings.
