Cheteshwar Pujara took blows on the helmet, on the finger and on the body. Yet, he still stood firm. Cheteshwar Pujara on Tuesday redefined guts as he smashed a solid fifty and kept India on course for a historic win against Australia in Brisbane on Tuesday. Rishabh Pant was giving him solid company as Australia struggled to break the partnership that was now worth fifty. Cheteshwar Pujara continued to go slow as his fifty came off 196 balls and it was his slowest-ever fifty in Tests, breaking the previous record which he held in Sydney when he crawled to a fifty off 174 balls. Cheteshwar Pujara got to the landmark when he dabbed a short ball from part-time legspinner Marnus Labuschagne to the third man fence for a boundary. In fact, three out of Cheteshwar Pujara's slowest innings have come in this Test series as he continued to give Australia plenty of pain.
It was a hostile first session from Australia as they resorted to the bouncer barrage. Cheteshwar Pujara got hit by deliveries that reared of a length and then hit him on the glove, body and on helmet. Twice, the physio had to come out for the mandatory concussion test but he continued to bat on. Cheteshwar Pujara shared a 114-run stand with Shubman Gill as the youngster was unlucky to miss out on a deserving maiden century. Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane also strung a solid stand with the Indian cricket team skipper playing an aggressive knock but he too fell for 24 off 22 balls. However, the old firm of Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant continued to soldier on as Australia became desperate to take a wicket.
India on course
With just over four runs per over needed for India to create history, Australia's proud record at the Gabba is now under threat and it will take an extra-ordinary result to reverse this current situation. Australia has not lost a Test in Brisbane since 1988 and they are now staring at their last fortress being crumbled down.
India has not chased 300 in Tests in Australia although they came close to doing it in 2014 and 1977. In the 2014 Adelaide Test, Virat Kohli hit centuries in both innings but India still lost the match by 48 runs in pursuit of 364. In the 1977 Brisbane Test, India fell short by 16 runs as they could not chase down 341.
