The Ranji encounter against Tamil Nadu will be the last competitive game for Pujara before he leaves for South Africa to play the two-Test series, says a report in The Times Of India, adding that understandably, Pujara was keen on being in the best frame of mind before leaving for Africa. "I wanted to make a big one so that I could carry the confidence to South Africa," said Pujara, who scored his second successive Ranji century this season.
The India No. 3 is paying equal attention to his game and fitness. To meet the ever-growing demands of the game, Pujara has been undergoing a rigorous fitness regime. "In the last 3-4 months I have put a lot of emphasis on my fielding, batting and my fitness," Pujara revealed.
With the focus firmly on the impending tour of the Rainbow Nation, Pujara sounded confident of the team delivering the goods. "Last time when we toured there, we had drawn the Test series. The key is to start well. Once we do well in the opening game, it becomes a lot simpler. The tour is important because once we do well there, we can take a lot of confidence to the other tours which follow that."
According to Pujara, the mantra for success in South Africa is to master the bounce. "There will be more bounce. My homework will centre around that (mastering the bounce). The Chepauk wicket did have some bounce unlike other pitches we have in India. So I would say it was an ideal preparation for me," Pujara said.
According to a report in Deccan Chronicle, the eyes of the cricket world would be on India and South Africa when the top two Test teams lock horns in the upcoming series. Pundits are predicting an acid test for the young Indian side, who would be touring South Africa for the first time without the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, says a report in Deccan Chronicle.
“We did well there in 2010 when we drew the series. The one tough aspect of the last SA tour was that we had to come back hard after losing the first Test. And not to forget the fact that we had chance to win the series”, says Cheteshwar Pujara, adding that the pressure of playing the Proteas is not as much as it's been projected.
“We did well there in 2010 when we drew the series. The one tough aspect of the last SA tour was that we had to come back hard after losing the first Test. And not to forget the fact that we had a chance to win the series. The moment we start doing well in the first Test at Johannesburg, I think it will be easier for us to march on,“ said Pujara, who was part of the team that travelled to South Africa in 2010. Pujara said doing well in SA is important as it would give the players a lot of confidence with India scheduled to play a host of overseas tours in the coming months.
“I will keep it simple. I just want to score runs and we would look to win the series. My target is to perform well in all the overseas tours,“ said Pujara.
Meanwhile according to The New Indian Express, on the preparations for SA tour and the ton the Ranji game, Pujara believed that it was good preparation. “It was a nice effort (century). I was very confident right from the beginning. Occasionally the ball was doing a bit, so I knew that If I can see the first 90 minutes, then it will be easy for me to score runs. Initially it was a bit difficult, but once the ball got old, it was easy to score runs,’’ said Pujara on his brilliant effort at Chepauk on Saturday.