Virat asks a lot of questions about match situations when he comes out to bat, reveals Cheteshwar Pujara
Pujara and Kohli have been India's stand-out performer in Test cricket
|BCCI
Cheteshwar Pujara has stated that Virat Kohli would enquire about a lot of things related to the game situation when he comes out to bat and he would try to formulate his own approach accordingly. The Indian No.3 has also added that oppositions’ focus on Kohli helps him relax a bit at the other end.
Often compared to the gold standard of Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar as India’s No.3 and No.4, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli have been two rock-solid foundations on which the team established themselves at the top of the rankings and now at the top of the Test Championship table. Even though Pujara’s approach came under scathing criticism, Kohli has remained an unabashed fan of his batting, simply because it served the bigger picture.
The partnership was on show in many matches at home and when the team toured abroad, it had often one of them batting like never before. In the 2018 tour of South Africa and England 2018, it was Virat Kohli who was the major run accumulator, and in Australia, Pujara helped India make history. But as Pujara himself admitted, the conversation goes beyond simple run-making and the knowledge transfer helps them move beyond the usual framework.
"As soon as he comes he will ask what they (the opposition) are trying to do, how the ball is swinging. If it's a left-arm seamer, what are the angles he is using, whether he's trying to bowl an inswinger or an away swinger. There's a lot of communication. I enjoy batting with Kohli because he's a positive player. Once he's at the crease, I know that bowlers will try and take his wicket because they feel that they can get him out early," Pujara told Harsha Bhogle on Cricbuzz in Conversation.
"But his approach is different, he'll be positive. If he gets a half-volley on the first ball, he'll try and hit it for a four. So the scoreboard is moving, there's not much pressure on my side because the opposition is thinking that they'll have to pick Virat's wicket and he's playing positive. Their focus is shifting to Virat and I can be relaxed at the other end. There have been times where because their [opposition's] focus is on Virat, I get some extra loose balls."
Pujara also added that he has always been an honest adviser to Kohli and the same is reciprocated when he is at the striker’s end. The duo observes each other’s batting and even though their batting style is contrastingly different, it helps that one makes the other aware of the problem of playing one shot too many.
"There are times where he would've played a cover drive when the ball is on the fifth or sixth stump, and I'll go and communicate to him that this is too wide. He plays his natural game, no doubt about that but he's ready to listen to that advice. Because if the ball is too wide for a cover drive, he also understands that it is not in his zone so he doesn't need to play that. But he will play a cover drive on the ball which is on the off-stump or fourth stump, but if it is on the fifth stump, he will listen. He will tell me 'yeah I didn't play that well,'" Pujara adds.
