Cheteshwar Pujara has arrived

Before the start of the second Test at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Saturday, Australia skipper Ricky Ponting must have felt quietly confident of winning his first Test on Indian soil.

After all VVS Laxman, Australia’s nemesis over the years (not to forget Mohali), had been laid low with a sore back. But little did Ponting realise that the man who would replace the stylish right-hander would take the match away from them on Wednesday.

On a wicket where batting on Day Five was anything but easy — Sachin Tendulkar had admitted to this fact after the fourth day’s play — debutant Cheteshwar Pujara scored his maiden half-century to help India score a seven-wicket win.

The icing on the cake was that Tendulkar, on a high after scoring his sixth double hundred in the first essay, scored another great knock (53; 69b, 5x4, 2x6) to guide India home. The maestro also walked away with the Man of the Match and the Man of the Series awards.

As a matter of fact, India’s 207 for three is the highest successful run chase at this venue and also the host nation’s first win here after 15 years. India also retained the coveted Border-Gavaskar Trophy as well as their No.1 ranking.

Australia, meanwhile, hit a new low by slipping to No.5 in the table. In fact, they are a notch below England (No.4). This was also for the first time that India recorded a clean sweep against Australia.

Though the match will be remembered for Tendulkar’s heroics, the final day really belonged to Pujara, who was promoted to No.3 in place of his idol, Rahul Dravid. The Saurashtra batsman, who walked after Virender Sehwag perished in the third over of the innings, was unlucky to be dismissed leg-before in the first essay by a Mitchell Johnson delivery that kept low.

But Pujara was in no mood to lose this chance. The youngster played some glorious shots on the off side. In fact, when Ponting introduced off-spinner Nathan Hauritz, Pujara didn’t even hesitate to step out and hit him through the covers a couple of times. He and first innings centurion Murali Vijay took the game away from the visitors by adding 72 runs in just 78 balls before Vijay was trapped leg-before by Shane Watson for 37 (45b, 6x4).

Pujara, however, continued with his shot making to complete his maiden Test fifty. He then joined hands with Tendulkar and the duo added 57 runs for the third wicket. In fact, Pujara looked like he would go on to register his maiden Test hundred. His luck finally ran out after he was bowled by Hauritz for a valiant 72 (89b, 7x4).

When Rahul Dravid walked in, India needed 61 runs more. Tendulkar then decided to put his feet on the accelerator. The ‘Master Blaster’ hit consecutive sixes off Hauritz to bring up his fifty and killed any hopes Ponting harboured. Seven overs into the final session, Tendulkar scored the winning runs off Hauritz. He then raised his bat and let out a huge roar.