Cheteshwar Pujara is known for his calm nature. He is known for his composed personality on and off the field. But on Sunday, November 16, he looked frustrated and angry. India lost the first Test to South Africa by 30 runs at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The defeat shocked many fans, but Pujara’s reaction showed how deeply it hurt the senior batter.
Pujara strongly criticised the loss. He said India should not lose Test matches at home. He believes this even though the team is going through a transition period. India are currently rebuilding after the retirements of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin. Despite this, India performed well earlier in the year. They drew the Test series 2-2 against England in the UK with a young squad.
During a discussion on Star Sports, Pujara made his feelings clear.
“I don’t agree with this. Transition ki wajah se Bharatiya team Bharat mein haare, woh digest nahi ho sakta (The Indian team losing in India because of the transition cannot be digested),” Pujara said.
“India lost in England and Australia due to the transitional phase, which is still acceptable. But the talent and potential that India has, look at the first-class records of Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar and Shubman Gill. Despite those first-class records, if we lose in India, it means that something is wrong,” he added.
Pujara Criticises Pitch for Reducing India’s Advantage
Pujara also criticised the pitch at Eden Gardens. He said India lost their home advantage by preparing a rank turner. According to him, a better wicket would have increased India’s chances of winning the Test.
“India had a better chance to win this Test if the match had been played on a good wicket. How do you define Tests? On which wickets will your percentage to win be higher? That percentage drops on such wickets and the opposition becomes equal to you,” explained Pujara.
This defeat is India’s fourth Test loss at home since 2024. Last year, New Zealand whitewashed India 3-0 in a shocking series. The pressure is now on Shubman Gill and his team. They will try to bounce back in the second and final Test of the series. The match will be played at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. It starts on Saturday, November 22.
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