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On 17th July, 2014,
Cheteshwar Pujara made a gritty 28. India had been put in on a seaming Lord's
wicket, Dhawan had fallen early, Pujara walked in in the third over. He battled
for nine minutes shy of three hours, negating England's new ball and the heady
morning conditions. Before him, Murali Vijay and Virat Kohli had fallen. It was
on top of Pujara's hermitage that Rahane built his palatial hundred. In the
second innings, Pujara added 43, digging in for two hours. Kohli was there for
a blink of an eye. India won Lord's but I recall only Mike Atherton
acknowledging the weight of Pujara's 28 in the post-match while speaking to
Dhoni. India lost the series 3-1.
Both Rohit and Pujara played three
Tests down under scoring 173 and 201 runs respectively. What appears to have been an ordinary
series for Pujara, seems to be the start of something big for Rohit. He was
retained as India's number three for the lone Bangladesh Test.
Virat Kohli went on to have the well
documented tour from hell: 1, 8, 25, 0, 39, 28, 0, 7, 6, 20. Pujara in the
vicinity of hell: 38, 55, 28, 43, 24, 2, 0, 17, 4, 11. At the start of the
series, as at the end, both Kohli and Pujara were tied at six centuries. Pujara
batted for 12 hours for his 222 runs in England, Kohli close to seven hours for
his 125 runs. Rohit Sharma played just one Test, rediscovering his happy knack
of getting out when set.
The Test series in Australia is where
Kohli tore away from Pujara and the pack: he added four more to his century's
tally, Pujara, none. And even though India failed to win a Test, the emphasis
was on brave cricket which it sure was. Pujara had a forgettable tour, a high
of 73, followed by five starts that he failed to convert. In spite of that he
occupied the crease: his briefest outing was 67 minutes. In six innings, he was
in the middle for over 11 hours. Pujara fell prey to his own high standards, he
was dropped for the fourth Test. Of all people, Suresh Raina took his place. A
golden pair followed, falling outside off in both innings. He lasted four
deliveries, eight minutes.
Raina has played 15 Tests in a career
that threatened to begin in 2010. His claim to a Test spot is no different to
that of Rohit's or Yuvraj's – One-Day specialists being shoehorned into the
Test side.
Yuvraj made his Test debut in 2003, in
close to 12 years, he played 40 matches, a career built on recalls. None to
different from Raina, who has already wangled 18 matches in close to five
years. Early days for Rohit, who's now played 11 Tests in close to two years.
Yuvraj, Raina and Rohit are either ODI or IPL wonderboys with an entitlement to
represent India in all formats. Their four overs of merriment gain far more
eyeballs than Pujara's painstaking three hour vigil at Lord's. Raina last made
a comeback to skipper India in Bangladesh - It wasn't on the back of either
form or runs, more to do with past credentials, right?
In November 2013, Rohit blasted two
Test centuries during Tendulkar's farewell series against an Invitation XI from
the West Indies. A series when not just Rohit even Mohammad Shami staked his
claim as a Test batsman. Following those home Tests, Rohit has toured South Africa,
New Zealand, England and Australia. In these 15 innings, he's accumulated two
half centuries and six single digit scores – three each of six* and zero. Rohit
may not get as many chances to fail and then succeed in Tests as he has in
ODIs, but he will continue to be given a rope longer than most.
Both Director of Cricket and Test
captain are huge admirers of his game, and don't miss a beat to extol the
virtues of his batting talent. For Shastri, in many ways, Rohit is the son he never had, for Kohli, he's a mate, in whom he sees his Indian team
blazing away in the next few years.
As the new Test captain, Kohli has
repeatedly emphasised the need to score quickly. In Rohit, who strikes at 51.51
in Tests and Kohli at 53.08 (compared to Pujara's 49.25) is the new attacking
India. While they're at it, why not pick Raina too – he strikes at 53.14. All
these bloated perceptions are often based on the players' ODI and IPL records –
seldom do they have much bearing on how a player transplants to Test cricket. Few
would know that before Pujara's lean patch in England and Australia, he had a
much better Test strike rate than both Kohli and Rohit.
It's doubtful Pujara will be allowed to
adapt his game to the shorter format; in spite of his excellent List A numbers
he never took to ODIs – five games, 51 runs, goodbye. Not everyone is as lucky
as Rohit Sharma. Looks like Pujara might have to resign himself to the number
three spot in overseas conditions. If that's the case, a hundred at Leeds for
Yorkshire is a step in the right direction.
*On June 12, 2015, Rohit made his fourth score of six
*On June 12, 2015, Rohit made his fourth score of six
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