India, inspired by KL Rahul, defeated Bangladesh for 324 on the final day of the match, winning the first of the two-Test series in Chattogram by 188 runs. Cheteshwar Pujara, the Indian team’s deputy, made a magnificent return to red-ball cricket and was arguably the game’s finest batter. Former India player, Ajay Jadeja, expressed his admiration for the veteran batter’s heroics with the bat during the Test match. He was overjoyed by his performances. The former India player was captivated by the Test specialist’s two brilliant innings.
“Don’t forget he had been dropped two Tests back and was out for a series. The selectors had rejected him and the same selectors got him back. This guy has always shown in his career, right from his under-15 days, that struggle is his name,” told Ajay while reviewing the contest on the Sony Sports Network. “He has had operations on both his knees, it is very difficult after that. This guy kept on doing the difficult tasks and he has so much love for the game that wherever you play him, he doesn’t get out. He is not fond of playing shots but of scoring runs,” added Ajay.
Pujara scored 90 runs in the first inning and an unstoppable 102 runs in the second. With 717 runs, he is now interestingly India’s second-highest run scorer in the World Test Championship 2021–23 cycle. Ajay went on to analyze the innings of the seasoned batter, saying that he made the “most of the chance.”
“He made the best of the opportunity. If you analyze his knock, he hit 11 fours when he scored 90 and 13 fours when he scored the hundred. It is not that he increased the number of fours and sixes. The game situation was such that when he was playing, he was getting singles, so not too many dots were added,” told Ajay.
India is still in the running to play in the championship match of the ICC World Test Championship in 2021–2023. The squad has advanced after defeating the Bangla Tigers, and intriguingly, Australia’s resounding victory over South Africa in the first Test at the Gabba has given the Indian team a huge push to make it to the finals.
