WTC Final | Cheteshwar Pujara could have rotated strike better, feels Dale Steyn

WTC Final | Cheteshwar Pujara could have rotated strike better, feels Dale Steyn

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Steyn was critical of Pujara's approach on Day 2

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South Africa pacer Dale Steyn expressed his opinion on Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara's need to rotate the strike which he believes will benefit both the batter and the team. Pujara scored eight runs from 54 balls on the second day of the inaugural WTC final in Southampton, playing 52 dots.

Captain Virat Kohl led India's proceedings on the second day - first with any action - of the inaugural WTC final in Bristol on Saturday. Kohli, who remained unbeaten on 44 from 124 balls, along with his deputy Ajinkya Rahane, who made 29 from 79 balls, took India to stumps with the score reading 146/3. 

However, Cheteshwar Pujara was once again in the limelight as after a 54-ball struggle, the right-hander perished for just 8. Pujara took 36 balls to open his score after he played a cut shot that fetched a boundary against Neil Wagner in the 33rd over, but the No.3 batsman failed to rotate strike, playing over 50 dots in his 54-ball stay on Saturday.

South Africa's talismanic bowler Dale Steyn felt that Pujara could have rotated strike better, and opined that better rotation would have benefited both him and team India.

"Now he faced 50 balls and we know that this is the kind of player that he is. But I'm sure if he looked back and looked at the sample of video analysis, he would find that there are deliveries there where he could have created the opportunity to maybe rotate a little bit more strike," Steyn said on ESPNCricinfo.

"I saw something come up and it was like 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 4, 4, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 and then a wicket. I'm sure in all those 50 balls, he could have rotated strike and just gotten that scoring to nudge on a little bit for himself and as well as his team," he further said.

With the single digit score, Pujara’s average in England dropped to 28.22. 

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