Cheteshwar Pujara survives an injury scare ahead of the Sydney Test

The last thing that a visiting team would want is an injury to a ‘key player’, especially on foreign shores. And, there is a lot more at stake, when the opposition is Australia, and when a Test series of such a magnitude is taking place in the land of the kangaroos.

The Indian side almost got a massive scare ahead of the New Year’s Test against Australia at Sydney. India’s No.3 and Test mainstay, Cheteshwar Pujara got a nasty blow on the elbow when he was facing some throw downs in the nets. But then, the right-hander returned back to the nets a while later, to calm down the nerves of the Indian supporters.

The Indian side is already without the services of batting maestro Virat Kohli. The Indian skipper had flown down to India to be with his wife for the birth of his first child after the first Test. The matters were further compounded for the Indian side when front-line pacer Mohammad Shami too, was ruled out of the Test series against the kangaroos. Shami had injured his arm after being hit flush on the elbow by a vicious bouncer from Pat Cummins at Adelaide.

The matter does not end there. Umesh Yadav too, limped away in the middle of the second Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), in the second innings. Now, Umesh is with his family and welcomed his first child yesterday.

In the first Test, the Indian side was whipped by 8 wickets inside 3 days in their first-ever overseas Day-Night Test against Australia. The visiting batsmen were caught unawares in the second innings as they were bundled out for just 36.

However, the Indian side stormed back in the second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) to square the series in a riveting fashion. Stand-in-skipper Ajinkya Rahane was the architect of the triumph. The right-hander scored a century in the first innings to allow India to post a famous victory.

Cheteshwar Pujara has not had a fruitful series so far

As far as Pujara is concerned, Indian No.3 has not had a fruitful series thus far. Pujara has aggregated a meager 63 runs in the four innings that he has played against the kangaroos. Also, in two of those innings, the right-hander was dismissed for a single digit score. In India’s historic Test series triumph in Australia in the 2018-19 season, it was Pujara who lead from the front with the willow. He scored 521 runs in the series, as India beat the Aussies 2-1 in their own backyard.

The Indian side will be hoping that Pujara finds form in the New Year’s Test in Sydney that gets underway on January 7th, 2021. For, the last time Pujara played a Test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), he scored a flawless 193 to help India draw the match. The visitors will be hoping that Pujara can repeat his heroics again, and gets back his lost mojo.

You can check the tweet about Pujara’s injury scare here:

After a short break, Pujara is back. #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/SstpRuIRoU

— Melinda Farrell (@melindafarrell) January 2, 2021