It was a rare sight on Monday as Cheteshwar Pujara was introduced into the bowling attack by India skipper Rohit Sharma. It was the final overs on Day 5 of the fourth Test match in Ahmedabad and the match was clearly headed towards a draw. Pujara bowled a tidy over and ended up conceding just one run which was lauded by the commentators. Pujara had a clean bowling action and former Indian cricket team skipper Sunil Gavaskar remarked on commentary that his bowling style even resembled the Australia great Shane Warne. Ravichandran Ashwin also had a brilliant reaction to his bowling.
Main kya karu? Job chod du? pic.twitter.com/R0mJqnALJ6
— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) March 13, 2023
“Main kya karu? Job chod du?,” Ashwin tweeted. It is a reference to a viral meme from a stand-up video from comedian Abhishek Upamanyu which translates to – “What should I do? Leave my job?”.
Ashwin was awarded the Player of the Series trophy jointly with teammate Ravindra Jadeja.
Saurashtra Skipper Jaydev Unadkat happy to see teammate Pujara rip a leg break to Smith!! pic.twitter.com/vwtQI8kYr5
— arnav.🏏 (@Cricket_Arnav) March 13, 2023
It’s been a great journey together. We wouldn’t be the same without each other. He gives me a lot of freedom to be creative on the field with the ball. Credit to him. I thought he bowled beautifully in the Delhi Test. That’s why we’re here,” Ashwin said at the post-match presentation.
India qualified for the final of the World Test Championship after Sri Lanka were beaten by New Zealand in the first Test match in Christchurch. Sri Lanka needed to win both of their games against the Kiwis in order to have any chance of qualification, but the defeat meant that the draw was enough for India to book their spot. The Rohit Sharma-led side will now face Australia in the summit clash.