Cheteshwar Pujara takes 54 balls to open innings, Indian team can't hold back their smiles

The final Test between India and South Africa kicked off today at Johannesburg. Electing to bat first with a lush green pitch in the offing, the Indian team succumbed early to the pace and bounce. The Men in Blue lost their first wicket in just seven runs when Vernon Philander dismissed KL Rahul and soon lost Murali Vijay with the scoreboard reading just 13. The onus was now on Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli to bail the team out of trouble, but it was no mean task.

Although Cheteshwar Pujara had very fond memories of the Wanderers, where he had played a monumental 153-run knock four years ago, his latest outing at the famous venue turned out to be nightmarish. The right-handed batsman had walked out to bat under immense pressure after managing just 49 runs in the last four innings and hoped for regaining his form. But the 29-year-old was seen struggling against a disciplined Proteas bowling. In fact, he would have been dismissed for a duck had South Africa reviewed a decision when Lungi Ngidi struck him on the pads. Replays showed that Pujara was out.

Nevertheless, with the Proteas pacers not providing even an inch to relax, Pujara failed to open his innings for the first 52 balls. Finally, when he did so on the 54th ball he could not hold back his emotions and could be seen donning a wry smile on his lips. Even his teammates sitting in the pavilion could not stop themselves from applauding as all of them were seen sporting a wide grin.  Also, commentating from the box, Sunil Gavaskar got excited when Pujara flicked Ngidi to score his first run.

You can see the video below

Look at the reaction of Team India's members after Puajara scored his first runs after 54 balls. #SAvIND #SAvsIND @virendersehwag pic.twitter.com/rUAX0KGn6L

— Khurram Siddiquee (@iamkhurram12) January 24, 2018

India aims to prevent a whitewash

The Virat Kohli-led side is on the verge of a whitewash after succumbing to heavy defeats in the previous two fixtures. The Indian team has failed to perform with the bat, which can be accounted as the prime reason for their loss this series. A similar batting collapse in the ongoing final Test at Wanderers will ensure that and all their efforts will be going to try and stop that.