Pujara to play County cricket before England tour

London:India Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara will warm up for India's tour of England by playing county cricket for Yorkshire.

"It goes without saying that Cheteshwar is a highly-driven individual and very skilled batsman," Yorkshire's director of cricket Martyn Moxon was quoted as saying by espncricinfo website.

"We're delighted to have him on board.

The plan is for him to relieve some of the pressure on the top order that we struggled with at times in 2017. Just as he did in 2015, Pujara will relish the challenge of performing in English conditions."

Pujara previously had two spells at Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.

Pujara has amassed 816 runs in County cricket with three fifties and as many hundreds.

source: news agency

India will fight back, asserts Pujara

The Indian batsmen may have been dismissed for a paltry total in the first innings of the third cricket Test against South Africa here on Wednesday, but Cheteshwar Pujara is confident that the visitors are still in with a chance.

The visitors continued their poor show with the bat in the first two Tests and were bundled out for 187 runs on the opening day at the Wanderers Stadium here.

Pujara, dismissed on 50, was one of only three Indian batsmen along with skipper Virat Kohli (54) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (30) to reach double figures.

However, with the Proteas losing opener Aiden Markram early in their first innings, Pujara asserted that a fighting performance by the Indian pacers may prove to be crucial.

"It was one of the toughest pitches I've batted on. I really had to work hard to score runs. Overall, we batted well. The runs on the board are sufficient and we can bowl them out. I think it's a good batting effort at the end of the day," Pujara told the media at the end of the day's play.

Kohli and Pujara struck contrasting half centuries as they added 84 runs between them in an attempt to bail out their team.

Pointing out that the pitch is not easy to bat on, Pujara opined that the South African batsmen will struggle to score as well.

"A lot of deviation and it was initially very slow, but there was enough bounce in the pitch.

There was a lot of lateral movement and a lot of deviation off the cracks. This was tougher than the Cape Town surface. We were just surviving out there," he said.

Source: News Agency

It is important to leave the ball well: Pujara on SA challenge

Cape Town:  Cheteshwar Pujara, a vital cog in India's batting wheel, today stressed on the importance of leaving the ball on the bouncy pitches of South Africa during the three-Test series beginning here.

India lost the series 0-1 on the previous tour of South Africa four years ago but Pujara was amongst the runs alongside Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane.

"It is important to leave the ball well, especially overseas. Once you move out of Asia, there is enough bounce in the pitches and that is the reason one should be able to leave the ball," said Pujara after a practice session here.

The gritty 29-year-old has gained valuable experience from his two trips to South Africa, and goes into his third series here in a positive frame of mind.

"It (the adjustment) is both technical and mental. The good thing is that most of the players have been here before.

Personally, I have been here twice (2010-11 and 2013-14). It is about knowing your game, knowing the conditions and you just need to apply yourself."

India arrived here four days ago and go into the first Test without playing a warm-up match.

Asked if the players feel rusty, Pujara replied in the negative.

"See, when we were playing at home against Sri Lanka, we had the South Africa series in our minds. We had prepared few things even in India. I don't think we are in any rush, there is plenty of time to prepare."

Indian batsmen struggled in the Sri Lanka series when they played on bowling friendly tracks in Kolkata and Dharamsala.

The moving ball is not so much a factor in South Africa, it is the bounce.

"Yes, there will be some bounce and that is always a challenge. But this time we have have enough preparation and we would like to back ourselves and try and execute the things which we have done over the past one and a half months."

Pujara said majority of the squad members have played here and that experience will come handy.

"I think the experience is most important. You know what to expect from the pitch, what to expect from the opposition.

Nothing can match the experience of scoring on such pitches.

You know what you want to do as a batsman and even as a team," said India's number three.

The team has been training intensely at the Western Province Cricket Club. Pujara was pleased with the preparation so far.

"Preparation has been fantastic. We have had three net session so far and twice we had two sessions in a day. We are very confident of our chances," he said adding the team is determined to win their maiden series in South Africa.

Considering the unusual drought Cape Town is experiencing, the Newlands pitch might not get the amount of water needed to have a fast and bouncy track over five days.

However, Pujara is not losing sleep over the kind of pitches Indian batsmen will get to play on.

"We are not bothered about the kind of pitches they will prepare. We will just try to focus on our processes. We have a clear gameplan, if it is a flat wicket or a grassy one," he said.

He refused to speak on the opposition's strengths and weaknesses, saying his team is well balanced for the challenge.

"It is up to South Africa how they want to prepare. It doesn't matter who plays for them. As a unit we are well prepared. Our pace attack is also much better this time. They are quick. We have that advantage this time," said Pujara.

India have picked five specialist pacers for the series with all-rounder Hardik Pandya being the sixth fast bowing option.

Pujara backed the pace department to do the job for the team.

"I can mention the Australia Test series at home. Our pacers picked so many wickets even though the pitches were flat. There will be lot of assistance here and I am sure they have made their gameplans by now."

India will also tour England and Australia over the next 18 months, giving the current team a great opportunity to become one of the greatest Indian sides of all time. Pujara acknowledged that prospect.

"Yes, we have that opportunity. If we do well here and in England and Australia. We have a team which can dominate overseas and it will be one of the best teams India have ever had (if we do well in South Africa, England and Australia)," he added.

Tags: Cheteshwar Pujara,  South Africa , Dharamsala, Western Province Cricket Club, India South Africa Cricket Series