JOIN USYoung guns show steely resolve
In the build-up to the series against New Zealand, none were under more focus than Cheteshwar Pujara and Suresh Raina.
They had walked into the team after the retirements of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, and it was quite natural that there were concerns about their ability to withstand the rigours of Test cricket. Fortunately, they gave enough positive signals at various stages of the series over the last fortnight.
Pujara made a hundred at Hyderabad in the first Test, while Raina showed he can absorb a pressure situation with a fifty at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in the second Test.
Between the two, Pujara will come under harsher scurtiny simply because he has replaced a modern day great -- Dravid. For the rest of his career as India no 3, Pujara will have to live -- though totally unjustifiably -- in the giant shadow of Dravid, and he will inevitably be compared with the virtuoso.
The Saurashtra man should be aware of Dravid’s legacy, but he shouldn’t get bogged down by it, and the rise of Pujara will depend on how quickly he makes a niche for himself.
Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni explained the need for Pujara to carve his own place.
“Even when Pujara comes and scores a 150 or 160, you still will miss them because of the kind of performances they have given in the past 15 or 16 years. I feel the boys who are coming in are not replacing anyone. They are coming in with their own character. So, it is a learning process and they are shaping up well.”
But Raina faces a different, but no less challenging, task. Raina’s hundred on debut at Colombo against Sri Lanka promised a long career at No 6 slot, but since then he gradually faded away after a few anaemic peformances home and away, his technique against short-pitched balls and Test match temperement coming under intense assay.
However, circusmtances -- Rohit Sharma’s modest form and Yuvraj Singh’s non-availability -- favoured Raina as selectors threw another lifeline to the Uttar Pradesh youngster, drafting him for the series against New Zealand.
The No 6 position demands flexibility in mindset because you might be asked to do the rescue work when the top order fails in one match or score a few quick runs in another -- something Laxman was quite adept at.
Even the Hyderabadi didn’t master the nuances of batting in the lower middle-order overnight, and the way Laxman went about his job at No 6 should work as a guide for Raina.
In Bangalore, the left-hander appeared a man in a hurry when a wobbly situation confronted him. In at 80 for four, Raina went in full throttle against the Kiwi bowlers, and such a gung-ho approach might not work all the time, and against all opposition. Raina has to keep in mind the fact that England and Australia are the next set of visitors to the Indian shores for Test series, and both of them have vastly superior bowling units. The left-hander will have to learn the significance of patience while batting on his designated slot, and that will be the key for his longer run in the Test side.
Dhoni acknowledged it. “You learn from your experience. In Test cricket, at times, you have to soak up the pressure and at times you’ve to retaliate. You have to find the right mix.”
Usually, a calm and collected individual, Pujara undergoes a character transformation once he sees a ball aimed at his head. The hook comes out a tad compulsively, and the shot has led to his perdition on more than one occasion. It ended his promising tenure at Durban, and cut short a blooming innings in the first innings of the second Test against New Zealand.
Pujara has to learn that hook or pull are not the only solutions against short-pitched balls, and try to be more skillful in ducking and weaving, a trait that served his predecessor at No 3 well in Australia and South Africa.
The next few months that will see eight Tests being played at home will provide far clearer signals about the future of Raina and Pujara, but for the time being let’s be optimistic.