Bengaluru: Though it was Sachin Tendulkar who bagged the ‘Man of the Match’ title and ‘Man of the Series’ award, the star of the final day was Cheteshwar Pujara.
He stood smiling near the dressing room, just a little shy at the sudden attention he was receiving from all those seeking his autograph or wanting to pose for a snap with him. Despite being a heavy run-getter since the age of 17, he had to wait for nearly five years for this great moment. It was his knock of 72 that titled the match in India’s favour on the final day.
“It was decided on the morning itself, even before Australia got out, that that I would go up the order to bat. Moreover, I was determined to play a good knock after I got out cheaply in the first innings,” said Pujara, who, in the first innings, got out to a ball that kept very low, after executing the first shot of his Test career to the boundary.
“All my seniors came and pacified me [with the advice] that one cannot do anything with such a delivery and that I should go out and bat positively in the second innings. However, it was Sachin Tendulkar’s advice that gave him the confidence. He (Tendulkar) told me, ‘God has given you this chance to play, and he will help you score runs’.”
Pujara lived up to his promise to his late mother that he would play for India one day. Strangely, he made his debut on the same day (October 9) that his mother had passed away after battling with cancer. Pujara was a 17 year old boy when that tragedy occurred. Though his father, Arvind Pujara, was a Ranji Trophy player, it was his mother who encouraged him to play cricket.
So, despite his mother’s death five days later, Pujara played for the Saurashtra Under 19 team and cracked a century.
Talking about his second innings knock, Pujara said: I was nervous, but I told myself to play every ball on its merit. Australians were trying hard to get some early wickets. They were at times trying to attack and at times to defend. It reached a stage where it seemed they did not know what they were doing.”
The ultimate tribute for Pujara came from Tendulkar who said: “Pujara showed tremendous character and his partnership with Vijay was crucial. It was a difficult track with the ball going up and down”.