You read the scorecard, see that Cheteshwar Pujara has hit an unbeaten hundred to drag Saurashtra towards the Ranji final, and might think it must have been easy affair. A walk in the park. But that wasn’t the case. He had to sweat it out there against Vinay Kumar and Co., needed an umpiring mistake to survive at 34, and was helped by an almost nerveless companion in the 32-year old Sheldon Jackson (90*). But here is the essence: without Pujara, Karnataka might have probably won this already. Now Saurashtra need just 55 runs to chase down 279 and enter the Ranji final for the second time in four years.
In many ways, the day stood out for a wonderful contest between Vinay and Pujara. It does seem Vinay is on his last lap in domestic cricket. He has lost about 6-7 kmph in pace this season and it has showed in less-than-normal wickets basket. But not for nothing he is rated as a domestic legend by his peers. It showed today.
He sensed the occasion, stirred into action, took the responsibility of being a strike bowler, and threw everything his body could squeeze out. He should have got Pujara on 34, with the team’s total on 68. The best days might be in the past, but Vinay wasn’t in mood to let the present go without one special effort.
For a while before that, Vinay had been populating the off-stump corridor. Pace wasn’t much but he was somehow managing the ball to dink this way to the other, and Pujara had to be at his best to counter. That particular ball, Pujara was sucked into the prod and Vinay rushed past him in celebration but again it was a collective deja-vu for Karnataka. Same batsman, same umpire (Sayid Khaled), same result: lots of frowns and arms in air in frustration.
Vinay even seemed to suggest that the umpire perhaps needs a pair of spectacles. This time, though, it was the ears that let him down. There wasn’t any visible deviation but there was a sound – that’s that. Later in the day, as he hobbled towards the dressing room, one offered some consolatory words and Vinay responded, “It happens.” It certainly does.
But here is the thing with Pujara. There are many qualities to admire about him as a batsman – primarily his mind that allows him focus for long hours, the eyes that follow the ball all the way to the bat, his soft hands that suck the life out of any edge, and that compact defense. But there is one other thing that comes up on days like this. Even when he is beaten, the hands rarely ever jab too far out. With other quality batsmen, including Rahul Dravid, the hands would jar – it will wobble a touch towards the ball, away from the body. A natural muscle movement almost. But with Pujara, it rarely happens. He is always almost inside the line when he is beaten. The hands don’t jar, the bat doesn’t hang out, and the bowler can’t even get the full satisfaction of having done him completely.
More importantly, what this means is the bowlers know that they have to move the ball precisely, almost just about inches to kiss the edge – anything more, it’s just thin air. In other words, the off-stump corridor for Pujara is so narrow, and so much less room for the bowlers to work with.
Clutter-free batting
Above all that clutter-free mind was on display on Sunday. Saurashtra were tottering at 23 for 3 in the chase of 279 after the left-arm spinner Dharmendra Singh Jadeja completed a five-for to ensure Karrnataka only lasted 8 minutes in the morning.
There were no freebies from the Karnataka seamers. Only much later when the spinners came could Pujara and Jackson relax a touch. The first delivery from Ronit More to Pujara set the tone: full and tilting in towards the middle stump, and it felt it would squeeze through to the pads before Pujara squirted it away to the leg side.
That is another development in the last five months or so with Pujara. Previously, he could be a bit vulnerable to the lbw scenarios with the full tilting in deliveries, but he has filled that hole now. So every now and then, the Karnataka seamers tried to serve up that lbw ball, but he stubbed them out. The other tactic, as first seen in Australia, the leg gully catcher for the aerial flick, too was tried but that too was negated with ease.
Vinay kept trying, though. He bowled the back-of-hand slower bouncers and Pujara failed to connect with his pulls and it would just about pass over the bat. Finally, Vinay even tried the Gillespie move – of flailing his arms wide when running in to bowl but little things like that don’t distract Pujara. He just smiled.
One more Saurashtrian would smile at the end of the day. Tired and almost limping out of the park, but Sheldon Jackson could be proud of this effort. Not once, did he try anything out of ordinary, such was his discipline and focus. He is good to watch when he flicks but he isn’t one of those self-absorbed batsmen who can err in pursuit of aesthetics. He knew his game, didn’t deviate from it all through the day and just kept batting on and on.
He is one of the important batsmen of Saurashtra – it’s easy to see why. He understood the situation perfectly, was compact in his defense against seamers and though now and then, his hands might stray in the off-stump corridor, with Pujara at his ears, he never looked like giving it away. There was a moment when he was 1, when there was a good lbw shout but he tightened up after that. Pujara couldn’t have found a better man to put a 200-run partnership and turn the game on its head. Now the Ranji final is just 55 runs away.
Brief scores: Karnataka 275 & 239 (Shreyas Gopal 61; Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 5/78) vs Saurashtra 236 & 224/3 (Cheteshwar Pujara 108 not out, Sheldon Jackson 90; Vinay Kumar 2/48). Saurashtra need 55 more runs to win
