Pujara & Rahane: End of Road after series of low scores despite occasional inspirational bursts?
Pujara, Rahane average 20.66 and 22.66 respectively in recently concluded Freedom Trophy.
“Form is temporary, class is permanent.” This is what Cheteshwar Pujara had stated, not in words but with bat in hand, responding with a half-century on a tough Wanderers strip, at times going at a strike rate of 70, during the 2nd Test in Freedom Trophy 2021-22.
In the recently concluded India’s tour to South Africa, Pujara had just 124 runs at an average of 20.66. When he got out in the first innings of the Boxing Day Test, it was his second duck in his last three innings.
Pujara’s Average falling below 45
Leaving some of the rare occasions, the runs haven’t come regularly from India’s Test number three. Human memory cells need to perform an exhaustive search to find a century from Pujara in Tests and his form has plunged sharply in the recent times with his average falling under 45 for the first time since 2012.
Even though Pujara himself hadn’t felt any sort of change in his technique as he stated to PTI, “When it comes to technique, I don’t think there was a major change.” But it does appear for an observer of the game that his backward leg collapsing issue while going onto the front foot is making it hard for him to tackle the ball and a golden duck at Centurion was the finest example of that.