Rahul Dravid said it will be crucial for the India team to have a hitter who can score 500 runs or more in the 4-round series when they face Australia starting on December 17.
Cheteshwar Pujara faced a record 1208 deliveries during the 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar series in Australia (AFP Photo)
HIGHLIGHT
- Best scored pujara in the 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar series, scoring 521 runs in 4 rounds
- Pujara’s blows helped India stop the famous Australian bowling attack and retain the Trophy.
- The India team will look to Pujara again to repeat his exploits when the series begins in Adelaide.
Former cricketer Rahul Dravid has supported Indian bowlers to take 20 wickets on a regular basis in the next four events against Australia, but feels the visitors need someone to score more than 500 runs in the series to have the chance to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Under.
It was Cheteshwar Pujara who stood like a rock in the middle on the last Australian tour, scoring 521 runs in the 7 innings he played with an average of 74.42 with three centuries, a fifty and a maximum score of 193.
Pujara’s punches helped India stop the famous Australian bowling attack formed by Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon. The other Indian hitters rallied around their mid-order star hitter to score more runs than the home team.
With Virat Kohli returning home after the series opener in Adelaide, India will once again look to Pujara to repeat his exploits this year when they face Tim Paine’s Australia in the four-match series starting on December 17.
“Who will be our last time Pujara?” Rahul Dravid said during a webinar, hosted by L&T Financial Services Mutual Fund’s annual conclave, The Winner’s Circle.
“I say (that because) Pujara scored over 500 runs last time, (so) you’re going to need one of your hitters (to repeat that). Or it’s going to be Pujara himself, obviously it can’t be Kohli because he won’t be there for the whole (tour), but you’re going to need one of your hitters at least in my opinion for the four tests. matches to get something like 500 runs. “
Dravid showed confidence that the Indian bowling unit will perform as it did in Australia in the 2018-19 test series, but said it will be crucial for the visitors to find a similar performance to Pujara in the batting department.
“I think we have a bowling attack that can take 20 wickets in those conditions. It will be challenging conditions: Australia will try to establish conditions that support the quality of fast bowlers. So will we be able to match that?
“I think we can get 20 plots in five days. (But) will we get a hitter who gets more than 500 runs for us in the series (or not) could you define that? If we can get it, then we give ourselves a great chance. If one of Smith and Warner, who missed the last series, gets that, then they (Australia) will probably have the upper hand, ”Dravid said.