Pujara's slow batting putting pressure on other batsmen: Ponting

Sydney, January 9

Cheteshwar Pujara's slow batting is putting too much pressure on the other India batsmen, former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting said on Saturday while asking the India No. 3 to change his approach.

"I don't think it was the right approach, I think he needed to be a bit more proactive with his scoring rate because I felt it was putting too much pressure on his batting partner," Ponting tweeted on Saturday.

Pujara, who won the Man of the Series award in Australia back in 2018-19, scored 50 off 176 balls at a strike rate of 28.41 in the first innings at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday as the Australia bowlers kept a very tight and disciplined line.

He was caught behind off the bowling of Australia pace bowler Pat Cummins as the sixth wicket to fall.

Pujara has been dismissed by Cummins four out of the five times in this series. Nathan Lyon has picked him once, in the first innings of the first Test.

Cummins has got Pujara caught behind on three occasions and had him caught at gully once.

The right-handed India batsman, who notched three centuries on the last tour including a 193 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, has managed to aggregate just 113 in five innings so far at an average of 22.6. This was his first half-century of this series. — IANS

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