How run machine Cheteshwar Pujara found his groove in the middle
Cheteshwar Pujara has been the best batsman on show this summer, and by a margin that almost puts his colleagues to shame, writes CricViz’s BEN JONES.
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Cheteshwar Pujara has been the best batsman on show this summer, and by a margin that almost puts his colleagues to shame.
Since 1971, only Alastair Cook has come to Australia and faced more deliveries in a series than the 1258 Pujara has faced this summer.
If given a chance in the second innings, he could well pass the English opener — this has been a historic run of form from the Indian No.3.
While coming to Australia is often framed about negotiating pace, Pujara’s excellence has been based on playing spin extremely well.
This series he’s averaging 58.80 against pace, but 113.50 against spin, and barring the odd ball from Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon has taken the brunt of Pujara’s brilliance.
The Indian No.3 has dominated the “GOAT” by skipping down the wicket to him — 178 times this series, Pujara has come down the track to Lyon.
Never before has Pujara come down the track to so many deliveries from spinners in a single Test series.
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It’s something he’s done particularly well across his career — he averages 229.66 when dancing down to the spinners — so it is a sound tactic and one that has seen him excel against the best spinner in the world.
In general, Pujara’s defensive technique has been typically sound.
This series he has played 387 defensive strokes, with two of them leading to a wicket, meaning that those strokes have a dismissal rate of 211.5.
That is the second-highest figure Pujara has recorded in a series, and his best outside of Asia. His defence has rarely been better.
By contrast, his opposite number, Usman Khawaja, has recorded a dismissal rate of just 43 for his defensive strokes, his defence broken far more easily.
Tied in with this is Pujara’s ability to leave the ball extremely well, happy to let the opposition bowlers wind away, tiring themselves out and making it easier for him to make his runs.
Last time he came to Australia, he left 23 per cent of his deliveries from the seamers, but on this tour that’s risen to 28 per cent — not a huge increase, but a significant one.
On this tour he’s let 279 deliveries go by him — Finch, Harris, Handscomb, Head and Mitchell Marsh combined have left 286.
His capacity for not playing is almost better than his capacity for playing, and against an attack that’s often only had four frontline bowlers, that’s an effective and important skill.
When a player is in this sort of form, it does feel harsh to focus on the opposition, but there were just a few areas where Australia’s seamers could have improved.
Across his career, Pujara averages 28.94 against good-length deliveries — not a big weakness, but a weakness nonetheless.
However, Australia have bowled just 38 per cent of their deliveries to him on a good length. Not an aberration, but perhaps a missed opportunity to really pile on the pressure.
Pat Cummins, who with an average of 31.50 has had the most success against Pujara, bowled just 18 per cent full deliveries, staying patient and letting pressure build as he maintained an economy of 1.55 runs per over.
Mitchell Starc has been the only frontline bowler able to make Pujara edge or miss the ball more often than the Test average of 14 per cent — and even then, Pujara took him at 3.3rpo, the most expensive of any Australian barring the leg-spinner.
Not one bowler has been able to balance control and attack, meaning that pressure has never truly been built on Pujara.
However, it would be churlish to linger on the negative.
Pujara was dropped from the Test side just 10 Tests ago, his return and subsequent dominance a real feel-good story for a well-liked player.
He will likely tour Australia again, next time India come over, but this time he’ll be met not with questions about his suitability to play in these conditions, but with the sort of reception usually reserved for his captain.
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