India’s opener Murali Vijay heaped praise on his teammate Cheteshwar Pujara at the press conference after the third day’s play in Ranchi on Saturday. Pujara had played a dogged, resilient knock and remained unbeaten on 130 with his team at 360/6, 91 runs behind Australia’s total.
The Vijay-Pujara duo has set the tone for many an Indian win over the years. The 102-run stand they stitched on Saturday saw them get to their sixth century partnership of the 2016-’17 season,
“Pujara has the game for it. He takes a lot pressure. His game is such that you can depend on him and play your natural game,” said Vijay. “It goes hand in hand. We both are in good form as well, so it helps the team at the moment,” he added.
However, the opener defended his choice of shot which led to his dismissal at the stroke of lunch. Vijay, after scoring a well-composed 82, stepped out to hit Steve O’Keefe but was dismissed.
“I was not disappointed actually because the shot was on. With mid-on, mid-off inside, I thought it was my shot but situation was wrong I guess and the execution was not up to the mark,” explained Vijay. “The previous ball before I got out, I saw there was not much spin. I thought fine, there was scoring opportunity for me. I backed my instinct but it did not come out my way,” the 32-year-old said.
The Tamil Nadu opener also said that playing Australian pacer Pat Cummins was a “challenge” and that the match was “evenly-poised”,
“If we can get closer to the target and may be if possible extend a lead from there, it would be a good game in hand,” said Vijay. He [Cummins] was bowling really well. He was sharp in the early spell. Then he was trying to bowl one line to us but as soon as the wicket fell, he had extra gas. So I think it was a good challenge for us to battle against him,” Vijay added.
