Slow but steady: Chesteshwar Pujara set to become 13th Indian to play 100 Tests

But, if you want to see speed, just bring a slow bowler, especially an off-spinner on. Pujara is down the track in a flash and to the pitch of the ball, whether he wants to play an aggressive shot or not. Often, he’s just there to kick the ball away, pad close to bat, but what he is doing is smothering the turn, taking the pitch out of the equation.

At a time when overseas players are defeated by the pitch even before a ball is bowled and young Indian batsmen are losing the art of using their feet, Pujara is unique.

He’s also alone in another sense, in that he plays only one format of cricket. That can be a challenge in itself, for keeping yourself game ready when the next series is months away, is difficult. As Pujara put it, “you’re mostly just sitting at home and watching cricket on the television.”

This can test the patience of any cricketer. To that end, that Pujara is on the cusp of his 100th Test, is a major achievement. And this ability to wait out long periods with purpose is something that is a cornerstone of Pujara’s batting.

“Patience is not something you’re born with. It’s something you need to work on,” said Pujara.

“You need mental strength for it, and you need to practice it. Preparation is important for that. I have scored a lot in junior cricket and in first-class cricket so I learnt my patience there, it’s not something that happened overnight. Years of discipline teaches you patience.” What has also helped is the yoga, meditation and pranayama that Pujara has turned to. And, as Ravichandran Ashwin recently revealed, Pujara is a stubborn person.

“Sometimes, I feel that as long as you stick to your methods and confident of your game, that brings you success in Test cricket,” said Pujara.

“It’s important to shut down the outside noise. You just need to focus on the things you can control.”

Pujara will become only the 13th Indian to the landmark of 100 Tests. In the course of his journey, he has faced 15,797 balls, and only four others: Joe Root, Alastair Cook, Azhar Ali and Steven Smith have been at the crease for more deliveries in the same period.

If Bradman is remembered for his average of 99.96, Pujara’s name should be associated with 99.4, the number of balls he sees off on average in each innings.

And there’s more to come. After all, Australia has brought out the best in Pujara time and time again.

“They have a good fighting spirit, no matter the situation of the game. They will always challenge you. Whenever I walk in to bat against Australia, I never get easy runs,” explained Pujara.

“I always have to work my way out to get runs. And, they play as a unit, they’re always vocal so there’s a little bit of banter and chat going on. Sometimes, that motivates me a bit more. I am not someone who will say anything back to them but the best thing I can do is to score runs and let the bat do the talking.”

Exactly who Australia will put forward in Delhi was unclear on match eve. Much depended on whether Cameron Green was fully fit. If he’s 100% and can bowl, Australia will have wiggle room to either play a third spinner, Ashton Agar, who can take the ball away from the right-hand batsmen.

When asked about various options, including Travis Head and Mitchell Start, all Pat Cummins would say was that the management was having “conversations” around each player.

For India, one obvious change was imminent. Rahul Dravid on Wednesday said that Shreyas Iyer “walks back into the team” if fully fit. On the day before the game, Shreyas was taking slip catches and practicing close-in fielding, while Suryakumar Yadav stood back and enjoyed his work.

There is much less talk about the pitch going into the second game, but Dravid still went out to the middle multiple times before and after the optional practice session to examine the surface. The good length areas were left bare — not just outside the left-hander’s off sump as in the final Test, but across the width of the pitch.

Australia’s only hope is that the traditional lack of bounce affords their batsmen more time to blunt India’s spinner. Oh, and they will also be hoping that they don’t have to watch hours and hours of Pujara at the crease.