Prepared to face Aussie bowlers from any angle, says Pujara after spending hours in nets

To make Pujara perfect with his timings against the left-arm spinners, head coach Anil Kumble was seen bowling through his left hands

By: Score Keepers |
March 10, 2017 4:32 pm

Ahead of the third game of the India vs Australia Test series in Ranchi, the entire Team India along with the support staff and coach Anil Kumble reached the next venue late in the night on March 10. Right from the next morning, the players were spotted at the Jharkhand State Cricket Association Stadium. While the bowlers tried out their spells on the net, Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara was also seen practising some different shots which were to ball bowled away from the line to the right-handers.

In a video published by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on their website and social handle where Pujara was seen practising shots like square cut and playing off the backfoot over the balls which were being bowled away from the stumps. Specifically, he was working on different batting angles from a right-handed batsman perspective.

While the video also had a statement by Pujara where he said,”In the previous games, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood were bowling outside the wickets in order to pull the batsman away from the crease. So, I was just practising certain batting actions and trying to place the ball at the centre of the bat.”

In another video, the head coach, Anil Kumble, was seen bowling with his left hands. While Pujara was batting, Kumble delivered a few left arm spin deliveries as there is no left arm spinner in the squad and secondly, Pujara could get an idea how Steve O’Keefe might bowl to him following the last match strategies.

It could be said as an unusual instance that Kumble was seen bowling in a different style but all these efforts were made just to ensure victory in the upcoming game.