Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara credited all-rounder Hardik Pandya for helping India stay afloat in the first Test against South Africa
Cheteshwar Pujara
Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara credited all-rounder Hardik Pandya for helping India stay afloat in the first Test against South Africa. Pandya's 93 and 2-17 has given India some toehold despite a 142-run lead currently enjoyed by the home team. "Everyone believed he (Pandya) can play such an innings and he played his shots and the environment in the dressing room became quite positive. Those runs were very important for the team and they kept us in the game," said Pujara after the day's play.
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"If he hadn't scored those runs, we would have been in trouble. So I think he kept us in the game and got us two wickets also at the end of day's play. So his performance was outstanding," Pujara added. What Pujara liked about Pandya's innings was the character shown by him. "He batted really well and showed a lot of character.
He hasn't played many Test matches away from home, but this is the kind of innings (he played) we expected it from him if he played in the playing XI. On his own dismissal after tea, Pujara said: "To be honest, I should have left the ball (after tea) alone. It was outside the off-stump. I made a mistake and got out. It deviated a little more than what I expected but I made the mistake and paid the price for it."
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