IOC Don’s feat hailed
Mumbai 14-Oct-2010
It was a day of ‘double delight’ for IndianOil (IOC). First, they got rescued from a disastrous 24-5 in their Times Shield opener against Akbar Travels by the blades of Ravikant Shukla (175) and skipper Wasim Jaffer (120) at the Police Gymkhana. The second cause of celebration was the success of Cheteshwar Pujara, who works for IOC, in the second Test against Australia at Bangalore.
Pujara, fondly known as ‘Don Bradman of IOC’ amongst his teammates courtesy his penchant for big scores, hit a magnificent 72 on his debut to star in India’s seven-wicket victory. As IOC ended Wednesday at a relatively comfortable 326-8, most players seemed eager to congratulate their now-famous teammate, who will join them for the next Times Shield game, from October 17.
Leading the praise for Pujara was Jaffer. “I am really happy for him. His hard work has paid off. He got a chance and he’s made the most of it,’’ said Jaffer, before adding: “He is a very positive person, very dedicated to cricket. In fact, it seems there’s no other thing in his life.’’ Another teammate of Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, has seen Pujara “since the under-14 days’’. “He has tonnes of patience and determination. His focus on the game never wavers,’’ says Rahane.
How exactly did this heavy, heavy sobriquet of ‘Don’ came about is not difficult to guess. “Pujara hit 213 in the first game he played for us in the Times Shield semifinal against Air India in 2006. Rahane hit 270 in the same match, and I had told Pujara that he could have got the award had he exceeded Rahane’s score. He calmly told me, ‘Koi nahin, next game mein bana lenge (don’t worry, will score in the next game). In the next match, which was the final, against BPCL, he scored 299! That’s when we started calling him the Don of IOC!’’ recalls allrounder Amit Dani.
Dani recounts an interesting take about Pujara’s debut for IOC too. Pujara hit a matchwinning unbeaten 100 in that game, against ONGC, which boasted of an attack comprising Amit Bhandari, Munaf Patel, Ashish Nehra, Sarandeep Singh and Rahul Sanghvi. Pujara had a long partnership with Iqbal Siddique towards the end. Siddique told him to accelerate, but Pujara refused. Siddique lost his wicket trying to attack, but Pujara stayed cool. The only boundary he hit, was when four runs were required off three balls. “Pressure doesn’t affect him. You will never find him ruffled and he never gets carried away while batting,’’ says Dani.
Comparisons with Rahul Dravid, have, and will always, exist. “He is an ideal replacement for Dravid. He is always hungry for runs, never satisfied. Like VVS Laxman always scores against the Aussies, Pujara always clicks against ONGC,’’ adds Dani.
“There is only one man with as good a technique as Dravid in India today, and that’s Pujara,’’ chips in Shukla, choosing to talk about Pujara rather than about his classy 175 on the day. “When Pujara bats, the atmosphere in the dressing room gets so relaxed. We know he’ll be there for sure. He has evolved so much as a batsman. When I saw him initially, he seemed to bat slowly. But he has developed his game amazingly, and now plays strokes all around the wicket,’’ adds Shukla, talking fondly about his “friendly, easy-going’’ teammate.
Offie Vikrant Yelligati too admires Pujara’s ability to evolve. “If someone says he’s not a T20 player, he’ll work on it and adapt himself to the format,’’ says Yelligati.
Adaptation, from the Times Shield, to first-class cricket, and ultimately to Test cricket, has been the hallmark of Pujara’s bright career so far. And this is only the beginning!
