Cheteshwar Pujara is a story in himself. Assiduous, benign, and consistent are the most relevant words which relate to the Saurashtra batsman.
Somewhere between the razzmatazz of the shorter formats and the dreariness of the longer ones, Pujara is a treat to watch for purists of the game.
Measured in his approach, Pujara is like the engine of a cruiser which takes time to warm up, but once it does, it can go for as long as you want it to. Thus, on likely lines, the start of this Rajkot lad’s international career was befitting his reputation.
Someone who churned outrageous numbers at every level, including a triple-century during his under-14 days and a double century against England under-19s, Pujara’s entry into the international scene was delayed.
This was largely because he came from Saurashtra which was infamous for dead-flat tracks and projected the hard-working Pujara as a flat-track bully in the eyes of some.
In reality, though, Che Pu (as his teammates call him) was far from that. Far from a bully, Pujara is a picture of aplomb.
His first few years in Test cricket would go on to substantiate precisely that. An instrumental 72 in a crunch chase at Bangalore against Australia on his debut in 2010 was an indication of things to come.
He would only go from strength to strength in the years to come. An enthralling unbeaten 206 against England in Ahmedabad and an even better 204 against Australia in Hyderabad, Pujara was suddenly the perfect fit to replace the legendary Rahul Dravid at number three for India.
But, as happens so often in cricket, the romance would hit roadblocks.
Pujara started to struggle in conditions different from the ones in his comfort zone at home, especially during tours to England and Australia.
You felt for Pujara, with so much written about his game and his flawed technique, people forgot that unlike his contemporaries, he is away from international action for most parts of the calendar year.
When the shorter formats of cricket are on (which is so often) Pujara is playing against a lesser opposition in conditions which aren’t as testing, which ideally makes a stronger case for him to be given a longer rope to work with.
When he came out to bat at Rajkot on day three of the first Test against England, he had decent runs behind him and you could see the spring in his stride. For a change, Pujara scored quicker than his partner at the other end, Murali Vijay.
On 99*, with his father Arvind Pujara (a former Ranji cricketer himself) and his wife Puja Pabari in attendance, at his home ground, for a brief moment, you could sense that he was nervous. But then a tap and sprint, and the local boy reached his ninth Test century.
You could see the joy on his family’s face. This meant the world to them, and it meant more than that to him.
A young boy who practiced at a railway ground in this city went on to score an impressive century in front of his own people.
Life did come a full circle for Pujara.