Published 12:05 IST, January 19th 2021
Has Cheteshwar Pujara been injured? Indian fans fear after batsman cops many blows: WATCH
Cheteshwar Pujara had stayed put at the crease and kept India in the hunt despite copping several blows on his arm, head, chest & fingers on Day 5 in Brisbane.
Indian Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara was batting his heart out in the ongoing Day 5 of the India vs Australia 4th Test at the Gabba in Brisbane. Despite copping several blows on his arm, head, chest and fingers, the right-handed batsman had stayed put at the crease for more than 200 deliveries, keeping Indian in the hunt to win the all-important series-defining Test.
Fans laud Cheteshwar Pujara for incredible spirit after copping several blows
Pujara was unfazed by the blows he received from the Australian pace attack as he kept going in his own style which frustrated the Australian bowlers. The Saurashtra lad came into bat early on Day 5 after opener Rohit Sharma was dismissed by Pat Cummins with just 18 runs on the board. Pujara, along with young Shubman Gill, started resurrecting the Indian innings as they stitched a solid 114-run partnership at a quick rate to bring the hosts back into the game.
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Gill departed after a well-made 91 but Pujara stuck to his task and kept the scoreboard ticking. The 32-year old formed a small 35 runs partnership with Ajinkya Rahane before the Indian skipper was dismissed for 24 by Cummins. Pujara and Rishabh Pant are at the crease currently who have a daunting task ahead of them to chase the target of 328. Despite Pujara's immense grit and determination, fans are concerned about the batsman because of the numerous blows he copped. Here's how they reacted to the situation.
With India vs England 2021 series soon approaching, Pujara's health will be of utmost importance for the Indian team as he is one of India's premier batsmen in the longest format of the game. As of now, Pujara is battling in the middle trying to secure the series for India, however, once the game is over, the nature of his injuries will become clear.
Cheteshwar Pujara stats
Pujara is a Test cricket aficionado who has been India's batting mainstay in the longest format of the game for almost a decade. The Pujara stats in Tests are incredible. Pujara has played 80 Tests, scoring 6030 runs at an impressive average of 47.9 with 18 hundreds and 28 fifties.
India vs Australia live score update
At the time of publishing this article, India's scoreboard read 254-4 after 84 overs with Pant batting on 50 and Mayank Agarwal unbeaten on 5. India need another 74 runs in 17 overs while Australia need 6 wickets to win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
SOURCE: CRICKET.COM.AU
Updated 12:05 IST, January 19th 2021