Cheteshwar Pujara registered an unwanted record to his name© AFP
India batter Cheteshwar Pujara registered an unwanted record on Day 3 of the series-deciding third and final Test match against South Africa at the Newlands in Cape Town. Pujara was dismissed for 9 on the second ball of Thursday when Marco Jansen cramped him for room. The India No.3 got a glove to it and Keegan Petersen, standing at leg slip, flew to his right to complete a stunning one-handed catch. With the dismissal, Pujara became the batter to be dismissed most times without adding a run to his overnight score according to Cricbuzz. This was the seventh occasion when Pujara failed to add to his overnight tally. The right-handed was previously tied with former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns and South Africa legend Jacques Kallis.
Pujara has been under a lot of pressure coming into this Test match. The veteran right-hander who had been short of runs for quite some time now, was sent back for 43 in the first innings.
Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant was unbeaten on 51 off 60 balls while Kohli (28 batting off 127 balls) added only 14 runs to his overnight score of 14 as India’s overall lead stood at 143 at Lunch on Day 3.
This was after Cheteshwar Pujara (9) and Ajinkya Rahane (1) were dismissed cheaply in the first half an hour.
However, the early setbacks didn’t deter Pant from playing his natural game as he hit four boundaries and a six while adding 72 runs for the unbroken fifth wicket stand with his skipper, who showed remarkable composure in playing second fiddle to Pant, who went for the jugular as and when situation permitted.
Pant, who had received flak for his poor shot selection under pressure during the second Test, respected the good deliveries but wasn’t shy of treating the bad ones with disdain. He was aggressive without being reckless, fearless without being careless.
(With PTI Inputs)
Topics mentioned in this article
