It was a crucial century for India, but from a personal point of view as well, it couldn’t have come at a better time for Pujara.

He was dropped for the first Test of the five-match series, and then struggled in three of his four knocks at Lord’s and Trent Bridge, where he eventually scored a fine 72 in the second innings.

“He was struggling a bit when he joined the team, but you cannot really make decisions based on how one does in the first-class format because he’s a proven international player,” Bangar said.

“Obviously, certain areas had to be worked on. He had to get his balance and footwork right. Those were the two areas we worked on as a support-staff group, Ravi (Shastri) and myself. It’s heartening that the work that he put in was duly rewarded.”

Pujara’s brilliance didn’t mask India’s batting frailties, though. At 142-2, they had looked set to claim a commanding advantage, but those ambitions were quashed after Kohli’s dismissal, with Moeen Ali ripping through the middle-order, cashing in on some ordinary batting.

Five wickets for Moeen Ali! How good has he been? 🙌

Scorecard/Videos: https://t.co/Tkym0XzCYO#EngvInd pic.twitter.com/E22iMGMnNV

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 31, 2018

“We thought two dismissals were pretty soft,” said Bangar. “Hardik really wasn’t on top of the ball while driving, and Ashwin attempted that reverse sweep at a pretty early stage in his innings.

“If he was set and batting with the tail, one could have thought that shot was on. But at that point in time, when Pujara was going so well, maybe they could have done things differently.”