India vs Australia | Don't think Virat Kohli’s injury is serious, says Cheteshwar Pujara

Team India put up a strong batting display on the first two days of the Test at the MCG as the visitors made their way to a solid total of 443/7 before declaring towards the end of day two. Mayank Agarwal gave Virat Kohli & Co. the start they required as he scored a brilliant 76 to form the base of the Indian innings, before Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara took over later on.

The Kohli-Pujara duo put up a magnificent stand of 170-runs at number three to help the Indians grab control of the game. However, there was speculation that Kohli had suffered a back injury during the first innings where he appeared to be holding his back in pain. But Pujara played down any injury rumours as he revealed Kohli’s condition should not be considered ‘serious’. 

"I don't think it's serious. The cause of the injury, I'm obviously not a physio so I can't say much about it. But I don't think it's serious. We had a wonderful partnership today … so I'm really pleased with that," Pujara said in a post-match interview.

The Indian skipper called for treatment during a sustained period of short-pitched bowling from Mitchell Starc that had Kohli ducking on multiple occasions. Earlier this year, the Indian skipper was also forced off the field during the second Test against England due to back soreness and also sat out a Twenty20 against South Africa in February citing similar reasons. Furthermore, the 30-year old was surprisingly silent during his innings of 82 from 204 balls on Thursday, the second-slowest of his 45 Test scores of 50 or more.

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