India vs Australia | Cheteshwar Pujara and fast-bowlers led India to victory, asserts Sachin Tendulkar

India won its first ever Test series Down Under when they defeated Australia 2-1 in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy. After the victory, praise from various quarters has been seeping in for the Indian team in general and the star performers in particular. Now, former Indian captain, Sachin Tendulkar has also joined the bandwagon and has praised Cheteshwar Pujara and the fast-bowlers.

"It's difficult to pick one moment, but Pujara has been really outstanding. There were a number of statements about him which weren't in his favour and kind of undermined his contribution. The bowlers have done extremely well too, but I think somewhere Pujara has been instrumental in laying that solid foundation on which a number of guys who got runs. If I've to pinpoint that one guy, then Pujara stands out along with the fast bowlers," Tendulkar told Cricbuzz.

The Indian pacers performed exceedingly well in the last calendar year. In fact, the competition in the Indian team has been so strong for the Pacers’ slot that bowlers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar had to sit out of the whole Australia series. Now the management even has the luxury of playing some pacers and resting some. For example, Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for the ODI series after he played all the Tests against Australia.

"More awareness about your diet, training methods. Accessibility to information. These factors have contributed a lot. Not to forget the infrastructure, which is extremely good. I hope we continue to provide better and better facilities to the players. All these things haven't happened overnight. It's a process which has taken some time.

"We've got quality fast bowlers. At the same time, the guys (pacers) are very talented. What you also want is for your fast bowlers to bowl hostile spells in patches. And that has happened frequently. It wasn't just about the new ball, but also with the old one. And how consistently one can bowl 140-plus. I can say that we've a competitive attack for any part of the world, on any surface," he gushed.

This is the first Test series victory for India in Australia in the 72 years long Test cricket history. Tendulkar stated that the victory will inspire many youngsters like India’s 1983 Cricket World victory inspired him.

"Whatever your age is, you want heroes in life. I think results like these are really important. I still remember that when I was a 10-year-old and didn't know much about cricket. But I knew that we'd won the World Cup. And that's where my journey started. Hopefully, there are many journeys which would've started already," he concluded.

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