Riding on Pujara’s half-century and captain Virat Kohli’s 103, India declared their innings on 352-7, giving England a target of 521 runs to win the the Test and with it the series.

The 30-year-old India No.3 was a part of Yorkshire in the County Championship Division One, and although he had scores of 23, 17, 0 and 32 from four innings, he was confident a big knock was just around the corner.

“I think I was always confident, although I didn’t play on challenging pitches in county cricket. I always felt that I was batting well, especially in the nets – the way I was timing the ball, I was very confident that I was up for a big one,” Pujara said after day three of the third Test.

“Facing him in 2014 in similar conditions has helped me, because I knew what areas he bowls in and what should be my game plan. So I was very clear with my game plan and what I wanted to do,” Pujara said.

“He is a great bowler and it’s always challenging to bat against him, but the way we had our partnership in the first session, we knew what we wanted to do and enjoyed having a partnership in the first session where they bowled really well.”

Pujara was helped by Kohli’s second century of the series, a magnificent 103 in the second innings in addition to his 97 in the first, and the duo had a vital 113-run stand for the third wicket, while batting out the entire first session on day three.

“I think he (Kohli) batted brilliantly and has been batting well since the first Test. So he has been in good touch and making the most of it,” Pujara said of Kohli. “Some shots he is playing on this pitch are very difficult for any other batsman to execute, and I think that shows he’s in good form and batting really well.”