Cheteshwar Pujara’s intent, or the lack thereof, is once again a topic of discussion after his sedate innings at the SCG on day three of the third India-Australia Test.

The man who took 53 balls to get off the mark in an innings against South Africa a couple of years back is in the spotlight again for his strike-rate after a slow start in Sydney. Pujara was on nine off 53 balls at close of play on day two, and while that picked up a bit in the first session on day three, the strike-rate was still below 30 runs per 100 balls as the teams broke off for lunch.

Pujara’s intent has always been a topic that divided fans, and on Saturday there was more evidence of the same as a section of fans and analysts criticised his slow scoring while the others hailed his resilience with India losing wickets at the other end.

 

Some even felt that Pujara’s innings was responsible for Ajinkya Rahane’s dismissal. Rahane had tried to play a cut close to his body to chop one onto the stumps off the bowling off Cummins.

But, like usual, Pujara had backing from another set of fans and journalists who felt that he did the right thing to absorb pressure and soak up balls with India losing wickets at the other end.