IND vs AUS | Always motivated to perform against better teams, remarks Cheteshwar Pujara

Aiming to cement their place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, India would look to beat Australia comprehensively for a record-extending fourth time in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at home. The Rohit Sharma-led side is likely to go out all guns blazing, with Jasprit Bumrah being the only regular to be sidelined due to injury. On the other hand, Australia would be without two of their finest fast bowlers – Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.

In a recent conversation with Indian Express, talismanic India batter Cheteshwar Pujara opened up about his preparations for the series. Pujara was monumental in India’s recent tour of Bangladesh, where he top-scored with 222 runs in four innings at an average of 74. The 35-year-old would be eager to carry on the momentum, even though the upcoming opponents, despite missing a few familiar faces, would be much more challenging than his previous outings.

“I feel Australia is always a tough team to beat and they are competitive on the field across any conditions. Also, there is a lot of verbal talk going around when you play against them and they will always come at you,” Pujara told India Express.

“To come over it, you need to be mentally tough and you need to have that fighting attitude. And when the opposition is good, you would like to be better than them and I’m always motivated to perform. I don’t need extra motivation when you are playing, but when a team like Australia is always after me and wants to throw a challenge at me, I want to accept it and overcome it.”

Pujara’s record against Australia is quite impressive, averaging 54.08 after 37 innings while scoring 1,893 runs.