India vs Australia: Upcoming Test series a chance for Cheteshwar Pujara to shrug off home-track bully tag

4,905 runs in 64 Tests at an average of just a shade below 50 including 15 centuries and a personal best of 206. The Test numbers of Cheteshwar Pujara are not only handsome but bright enough to make any of his contemporary feel envy of him. After all, Test cricket is his favourite. He literally doesn’t play any other format for India. In an era, where the benchmark is being frantic and every innings goes past like a bullet train, Pujara is like time travel. A throwback to good old days where the art of batting was about temperament, technique, unflinching concentration and long innings. [caption id=“attachment_5654521” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Cheteshwar Pujara. Reuters[/caption] It was these qualities that helped Pujara to make inroads into Team India much ahead of the likes of Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane. Only Murali Vijay from the current batting unit made his Test debut before Pujara. The Tamil Nadu batsman is four years elder to Pujara. However, there’s an anomaly with Pujara’s impressive numbers, which is also the most disappointing fact about a batsman seen as a Test specialist. Overseas conditions are unforgiving but it has been most unkind to the Saurashtra batsman. Bifurcate his numbers between Asia and SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) countries and his average shoots up to almost 65 from 40 Tests in familiar conditions. On the other hand, the average plunges to a disappointing under 30 in 21 Tests away from home in SENA countries - the lowest among the senior Indian batsmen. Only Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul account for worst figures but have played considerably lesser matches in those countries than Pujara. Out of the 15 Test centuries, 13 of them have been amassed on Asian soil by Pujara while only two of them have been managed in over 20 matches away from home. But there are reasons why Pujara is always in the mix whenever India travels abroad. One could be the lack of options while other is the irreplaceable doggedness of the right-handed batsman. It was his 153, batting at number three, in Johannesburg in 2013 against South Africa that raised the hopes that Indians have successfully built another wall after the departure of Rahul Dravid. But his constant failures prompted India to try out new things as they looked to conquer overseas challenge. This year, in-form Rahul was asked to bat at No 3 position pushing Pujara down to four against Afghanistan at home. Later, Pujara was omitted all together for the first Test against England at Edgbaston. But Rahul’s failure in grabbing the opportunity and opening blues forced India to return to the ‘Test expert’. After all, the number three spot is the fulcrum around which the batting revolves. It was a role that Dravid played to perfection. You need someone who can bat with responsibility and hold one end. Pujara have time and again shown that he can be that man. In the first Test against South Africa in Cape Town earlier this year, the 30-year-old produced a gritty 92-ball 26 as wickets kept falling around him. The problem, however, with Pujara is that he has been unable to covert the starts into big scores overseas. However, there’s a welcome trend in that respect. After failing in first two Tests in South Africa, Pujara put up a tenacious 179-ball 50 in the third match at Johannesburg. He took 54-ball to get off the mark on a treacherous pitch but his contribution with the bat helped India register a famous win. After sitting out of the first Test in England, Pujara proved to be a useful addition to the side as he made a useful 72 in Trent Bridge to help India register their solitary win in the series and then slammed a hundred at Southampton to keep his side in the game for long despite Moeen Ali’s onslaught. Now, India would want the trend to hit its peak as they look to create history in Australia. As far as Pujara is concerned, the next chain of overseas tour has a long time to come. A lot can happen between now and then and so the upcoming Australia series is nothing short of a final opportunity for the batsman to put the doubts over his overseas credentials to rest and prove that he’s not merely a home-track bully.