'More beneficial to team': Brian Lara explains why Cheteshwar Pujara should 'try to create lot more shots'
Though Pujara has a career strike rate of 44.32 after 88 Test matches, it's his scoring rate over the past year that has come under scrutiny
Cheteshwar Pujara's strike rate has become a topic of hot discussion in the recent past. Several experts and cricketers have had their say on India's Test mainstay's approach, who is also going through a lean patch at present. The latest to join the discussion is Brian Lara.
Discussing Pujara’s strike rate in Test cricket, batting legend Brian Lara told Disney+ Hotstar:
“Pujara, definitely for me, I mean as a batsman, I am not the same as a player, that ability to be so patient and score at such a low strike rate. So, for me, if I was a coach or if I was someone that wanted Pujara to improve, I would try to create a lot more shots and try to score a strike rate that is more beneficial to him and the team.
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"He does the job, and I know the job he does, but I just feel that when you bat that slowly, there are a lot of momentum swings in your innings and you allow the bowlers so many deliveries at yourself, even before you get to three figures – that you are going to find yourself coming up short a lot of times.”
Though Pujara has a career strike rate of 44.32 after 88 Test matches, it's his scoring rate over the past year that has come under scrutiny. During India's tour of Australia late last year, the Saurashtra batsman scored 271 runs in four Tests at a rate of 29.20. A few weeks later at home against England, the right-hander scored 133 runs in four Tests at a scoring rate of 40.44. In the ongoing five-match Test series against England, Pujara has registered a strike rate of 26.59 after five innings.
In the first innings of the third Test, Pujara fell cheaply for a nine-ball 1. Courtesy of a three-wicket haul each James Anderson and Craig Overton, India were bowled out 78 in just 40.4 overs.
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(With PTI inputs)
