‘Can’t disclose,’ says Cheteshwar Pujara on his preparations ahead of India vs Australia Nagpur Test

The
35-year-old,
who
is
two
matches
short
of
his
100th
Test,
said
that
he
played
a
couple
of
Ranji
Trophy
matches
for
Saurashtra
in
lead
to
the
home
series
against
Australia
before
adding
that
was
also
working
on
a
few
crucial
points
which
he
would
not
like
to
open
about
in
public.

“I’ve
played
a
couple
of
Ranji
Trophy
games
as
a
part
of
the
preparation
for
the
series
against
Australia.
Apart
from
that,
I’ve
been
practicing
back
home
at
Rajkot.
I
can’t
disclose
particular
things,
but
there
are
things
which
I’m
working
on
a
few
points
which
will
help
me
during
this
series,”
Pujara,
who
has
scored
1893
runs
at
an
average
of
54.08
against
Australia,
told
Times
of
India.

Pujara
has
played
a
pivotal
role
in
India’s
back-to-back
triumph
on
the
Australia
soil.
In
2018-19,
Pujara
amassed
521
runs
after
facing
a
record
1258
balls
on
the
2018-19
tour
of
Australia.
He
backed
that
up
with
utterly
precious
271
runs
off
928
balls
(second-highest
for
India)
during
the
2020-21
tour.
Eyes
will
again
be
on
Pujara
who
was
dropped
for
the
home
Test
series
against
Sri
Lanka
last
year.

The
35-year-old
signed
with
County
Championship
side
Sussex
and
piled
up
1094
runs
at
an
average
of
109.40
in
eight
matches
before
being
recalled
in
the
team
for
the
rescheduled
fifth
Test
against
England
in
Birmingham.
Since
making
his
comeback,
the
right-hand
batter
has
scored
13,
66,
90,
102*,
24
and
six.

Main
battles
with
Lyon
and
Cummins
in
Australia

Pujara
was
also
asked
about
his
matchups
with
veteran
Australia
off-spinner
Nathan
Lyon
and
ace
pacer
and
captain
Pat
Cummins.
He
acknowledged
the
experience
of
the
duo,
however,
added
that
they
have
challenged
him
mostly
in
their
home
conditions.

“Look,
they’ve
experience.
They
understand
their
strengths
really
well.
Especially
when
we
play
them
in
Australia,
they
utilise
the
conditions
well.
They
know
which
areas
to
bowl
in,
in
those
conditions.
So
I
think
the
main
battle
against
them
is
always
in
Australia.
Not
to
forget
that
they
are
great
bowlers
and
they’ve
done
well
even
in
India,
but
my
important
battles
against
them
have
been
in
Australia.
That’s
something
you
need
to
do
a
lot
of
preparation
for,
as
a
batsman,
you
need
to
figure
out
your
ways
to
counter
them.
As
a
batsman,
you
always
enjoy
that
challenge,”
he
said.

Notably,
Pat
Cummins
dismissed
Pujara
five
times
in
the
last
series.
In
total,
he
has
picked
out
Pujara
seven
times
in
10
matches.
Nathan
Lyon
has
managed
to
dismiss
Pujara
10
times
in
17
matches.
Pujara
has
scored
521
runs
at
an
average
of
52.1
against
the
tweaker.

Cummins
hasn’t
dismissed
Pujara
in
any
of
his
two
attempts
against
India.
Lyon
has
played
seven
matches
against
Pujara
in
India.
Pujara
has
scored
176
runs
from
the
392
balls
he
has
faced
but
has
lost
his
wicket
five
times
in
the
process.

The
first
Test
match
between
India
and
Australia
will
be
played
in
Nagpur
from
February
9.