Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood on Friday said he hoped the Dharamsala wicket would have bounce as he plotted the dismissal of the “key wicket”, India’s Cheteshwar Pujara.
The India No 3 has been the standout batsman for his side, scoring 348 runs at an impressive average of 69.60 in the three Tests this series. During the last two Tests in particular, Pujara has been in pivotal in dictating India’s fortunes, scoring a timely 92 in Bengaluru, before amassing a monumental 525-ball 202 in Ranchi.
Much like Australian bowlers in the past, bowling bouncers would play a key role in the plans of the visitors, Hazlewood said. “Any sort of bounce is an added bonus for the quicks against most of their batters and probably him [Pujara] in particular,” he told cricket.com.au.
Pujara combated the bouncers with aplomb in Ranchi en route his double century, an experience Hazlewood described as “a hard slog” for the bowlers, as the hosts went past the 600-run mark in the first innings.
Pujara also joined an elite group of Indians to score more than 1,000 runs against Australia during his marathon innings. Later, he would go on to attribute his powers of concentration and patience to the experience gathered by playing the longer format since the age of 13. Hazlewood also sung praises of Pujara’s temperament and appetite to score big hundreds.
“He’s a class player ... he’s definitely a key wicket,” Hazlewood said. “He’s got a great temperament and I guess you’ve just got to try and get under his skin somehow but he just loves batting a [for] long time.”
At various points during Pujara’s 11-hour knock in the third Test, Hazlewood was spotted mouthing off at the Saurashtra batsman. When asked if the 29-year-old responds while at the crease, Hazlewood said, “Not really. I think once he’s scored a few runs he’ll then converse with you.”