Pujara’s painstaking approach shows traditional methods still relevant

SIMON HUGHES: "The thrill of booming the ball into the upper tier is one thing, but sustaining your commitment and concentration at the wicket for nine hours - as Pujara did - to win a Test match in Australia is a much deeper sensation."

In an interview for The Cricketer last summer, Rahul Dravid, the India A coach, lamented the lost art of the old-fashioned player like him who sold his wicket dearly and tried to bat all day. 

“Modern young batsmen seem to get most satisfaction from hitting fours and sixes. I want to try and encourage them to also get satisfaction from a good leave,” he said. 

We were watching Alastair Cook grind out 180 for England Lions and Dravid was hoping that some of the young blades under his stewardship would glean some valuable lessons.

“I find that young players today only get satisfied when they hit boundaries or when they’re scoring at a particular rate,” he added. “But you can get satisfaction from batting the whole day. I loved it.”

^{Rahul Dravid}

Dravid will be ecstatic today not just because of India’s exciting first Test victory over Australia at Adelaide but also by the way it was achieved. He will already have ordered a DVD of Cheteshwar Pujara’s painstaking performance to show to the next generation and point out the value of his approach.

Pujara left 30 per cent of the deliveries he faced in the two innings and negotiated 430 balls in all in his match-winning contribution of 193 runs (across the two innings).

He wore down the Australian fast bowlers, and dealt resolutely with the threat of Nathan Lyon which not only gave India their narrow 31-run victory, but will also have a cumulative effect on the opposition with four Tests in the space of a month. 

In the modern era Pujara is unusual. He doesn’t stand with his bat aloft like a baseballer or try to smack the ball to the fence (he struck only 4 boundaries in his first 80 runs in the match).

He ekes out an existence with dabs and flicks and nurdles and the odd resounding cut. He used his pad to repel Lyon rather than try fancy sweeps and reverse hits.

^{Cheteshwar Pujara left 30 per cent of the deliveries he faced in the match}

As a result, he does not attract the big paymasters of the IPL. In fact, he has only played 30 matches in the tournament (with one fifty), and none since 2014. 

The man the Yorkshire team called Steve because they couldn’t pronounce his first name (me neither) has had to make sacrifices in his life.

Staying true to his traditional methods, he is only employable for half the year (i.e. in longer formats) rather than being able to command top dollar for all the various T20 franchises around the world.

It is a sacrifice that many of the thrusting young hitters around the world are often reluctant to make. Watching the outpouring of joy amongst the Indian players after the match told an invaluable story.

It said that the thrill of booming the ball into the upper tier is one thing, but sustaining your commitment and concentration at the wicket for nine hours - as Pujara did - to win a Test match in Australia is a much deeper sensation.