<img title="Cheteshwar Pujara plays one to the on-side during the third day's play. Pic/PTI" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2017/mar/pujara19.jpg" alt="Cheteshwar Pujara plays one to the on-side during the third day's play. Pic/PTI" />Cheteshwar Pujara plays one to the on-side during the third day's play. Pic/PTI
Ranchi: Nathan Lyon stated during the Bangalore Test that Australia had been successful in decapitating the head of the snake. But slowly, the visitors are starting to understand what Virat Kohli meant when he responded by saying, "The snake can sting from a lot of directions."
India No. 3 Cheteshwar Pujara is proving Kohli right and he continues to slip under the Australian skin time and again and play some stinging knocks. The man from Rajkot averages 69 against the tourists in this series and once again he proved to be a hard nut to crack.
Perhaps it is just Pujara's style that enables him to slip under the radar easily. He doesn't impose himself on the bowling, but at the same time, he puts a heavy price on his wicket for any bowler to pocket it.
Most of his drives are all through the turf. There is no extension of his arms during cover drives, neither is there any urgency to put fielders under pressure. Like a smart worker, he has this happy knack of getting the job done. The best part of his game is that he knows how to build his innings and when to cash in on it.
In the pivotal first session on Saturday, Pujara withstood the Australian onslaught by scoring only 30 from 113 balls. After lunch, he attacked the second new ball and accumulated 69 runs from 99 balls, including a glorious punch through the covers to bring up his 11th Test ton in his 47th match.
In the final session, he realised that he had to drop anchor after losing Karun Nair and Ravichandran Ashwin in quick succession. As stumps loomed, he kept rotating the strike to score 21 from 90 balls, but more importantly, he remained unbeaten, giving India some hope of a fightback.
After three days, the match hangs in balance. But, Pujara can turn it in India's favour. It is another burden on his shoulders, but Pujara is someone who thrives under pressure. Like many times this season at home, he has done it again when the team needed him the most. He would like to believe that his job is only half done.
PUJARA&acirc;u00c2u0080u00c2u0088IN&acirc;u00c2u0080u00c2u0088THIS&acirc;u00c2u0080u00c2u0088SERIES
3&nbsp;Matches,&nbsp;276&nbsp;Runs,&nbsp;130* Highest score,&nbsp;1 Hundred, 1&nbsp;Fifty

Nathan Lyon stated during the Bangalore Test that Australia had been successful in decapitating the head of the snake. But slowly, the visitors are starting to understand what Virat Kohli meant when he responded by saying, "The snake can sting from a lot of directions

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Nathan Lyon stated during the Bangalore Test that Australia had been successful in decapitating the head of the snake. But slowly, the visitors are starting to understand what Virat Kohli meant when he responded by saying,&nbsp;"The snake can sting from a lot of directions

Ranchi Test: With Pujara in, India's fightback is on

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