Australia maintain their perfect record in pink-ball Tests

Sampath Bandarupalli16-Jan-20221312 Balls bowled in the Hobart Test, the second shortest Test match in terms of balls in Australia, where all 40 wickets fell. The one-off Ashes Test match in 1888 hosted by Sydney lasted only 1129 balls. The Hobart Test is also the sixth shortest Test since 1910, where all 40 wickets fell.39 Number of wickets for the pace bowlers in the Hobart Test. These are the most wickets picked up by the pace bowlers in an Ashes Test, eclipsing 38 in Leeds, 1981 and Perth, 2010. The 39 wickets are also the most for the quicks in a Test match hosted by Australia – surpassing the tally of 38 during the 1988 Melbourne Test between Australia and West Indies and during the 2010 Ashes Test in Perth.124 England’s all-out total in the chase is the fifth-lowest in the Ashes after a 50-plus opening partnership. It is also the lowest all-out total after a 50-plus stand for the first wicket in the Ashes since World War II.

The reason why we expect Sri Lanka will make something of the Tests against India is because in his own unobtrusive way, Karunaratne has made it so

Andrew Fidel Fernando03-Mar-2022There is a stepdad-of-the-year vibe to Dimuth Karunaratne’s leadership. When he got the job in early 2019, the Sri Lanka captaincy – never not a theatre of high drama – was in a particularly toxic place. Dinesh Chandimal had not merely been replaced as captain, but also been dumped from the team entirely.In the previous four years, three others had led the side, on top of which Chandika Hathurusingha, the coach at the time, was not only facing serious heat from the board and the sports minister himself, but Sri Lanka’s most senior player Angelo Mathews was also at an open war with him.Karunaratne came like a light rain to tone down – if not quite extinguish – the fire. Just an affable guy. You know the type. A kind word here, an arm around the shoulder there. Not the fire-and-brimstone stepdad who will erupt when you tell him about the flunked exam. Instead, he’ll peer over his glasses past his gardening magazine, bend an ear, let you figure your own life yourself.Related

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What is clear is that Sri Lanka’s Test team desperately needs Karunaratne in the picture, because remember what happens when he isn’t? In January last year, he hit a terrific second-innings century in Johannesburg but picked up a nasty fracture in his hand during the course of that knock, and had to miss the upcoming England Tests at home because of it.Sri Lanka have had some bad old times in the past few years, but nothing was more embarrassing than series. On day one of the first Test in Galle, they were all out for 135, collapsing to some profoundly innocuous offspin from Dom Bess. It was like watching someone trip over their shoelaces before being gnawed to death by a hamster, which Bess is. In their last innings of that series, Sri Lanka failed even more abysmally – all out for 126, thus sealing a 2-0 series loss.So what happens when Karunaratne comes back? They draw two Tests in the West Indies, win a series at home against Bangladesh and then beat West Indies 2-0 at home. Not the most challenging assignments in Test cricket, sure, but when the alternative is shameful capitulation, you’ll take three wins and three draws from six Tests.The reverse-sweep to get out of jail when he hasn’t hit a conventional sweep all game: Karunaratne against India in 2017•Associated PressKarunaratne himself thinks – and his thoughts are not without merit – that Sri Lanka are building to something. Building. Not frantically keeping their noses above churning water; not lurching from disaster to elation. Building. Our guy has led the charge himself. Since 2019 – and in an era that has been notoriously unkind to opening batters – Sri Lanka have had seven century stands for the first wicket. No one else has had more than five. Lahiru Thirimanne has featured in five of those; Pathum Nissanka in two. Karunaratne in all.Which in a roundabout way brings us to India, because while Karunaratne has hit hundreds against all but two of the oppositions he has faced, his best innings came against India – on the filthiest of filthy turners in Sri Lanka, the spiritual home of the filthy turner. He barely swept R Ashwin or Ravindra Jadeja – they shared 14 wickets between them in that match – but in his own unobtrusive way, he clawed to 141.Whips through midwicket, cuts that look pretty good but somehow don’t quite get to the boundary, drives that don’t pierce the gap in the sense that a diving mid-off can get a hand to it but can’t stop it completely and the funny-looking reverse-sweep to get out of jail when he hasn’t hit a conventional sweep all game: this is the house Karunaratne has built.In the past year, it has looked like a half-decent house actually, because his own batting form has coincided with a happy stretch for the Test side. He cracked 902 Test runs from 13 innings at an average of 69.38 in 2021. But, okay, most of those runs came against West Indies and Bangladesh. Playing India in India is a big step up, which means that 2022 is starting with probably the toughest assignment in all of Test cricket. Here is what he had to say about that.”I have only played three Tests in India, and I wasn’t able to make a lot of runs. I’m very determined that this series will be my best series in India. It’s ok that this year starts with a really tough series. It’s from the tough starts that you learn things about yourself. I’ve left my good 2021 aside, and am focusing on getting a good start this year and making it as good as last year. Contributing to a team win is what’s important.”Read that quote again. Because it’s concentrated Karunaratne. There is an awareness of his failings. An acceptance of less-than-ideal circumstances. A grim determination. Stepdad of the year.There is some expectation now that Sri Lanka will make something of this Test series. Karunaratne knows that. And he expects it himself. And the big reason why he, and we, expect it is because in his own unobtrusive way, he has made it so.

Australia allrounder keen to don London Spirit colours after pulling out of last year’s competition

Vithushan Ehantharajah03-Aug-2022On Thursday evening, playing against Oval Invincibles at the Kia Oval, Glenn Maxwell will finally add London Spirit to the list of teams he has graced on the lucrative short-form circuit.It has been a long time coming, or perhaps not long at all if you’re on Maxwell’s “tick follows tock” schedule of franchise tournament into international duty and back into franchise tournament again, where time moves that little bit quicker. He was one of the most sought-after names ahead of the original draft at the end of the 2019 summer, then one of the many overseas withdrawals for the inaugural season in 2021.But as the £100,000-man sits on the pavilion benches at Lord’s, looking out on the historic ground he will call home for four games before returning to Australia for their white-ball series with Zimbabwe, he appreciates where he is in this moment. “I’m not sure you get a better venue for an interview, do you? This is as good as it gets.”Related

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Amid the excitement of his first taste of the Hundred, there is a tinge of sadness that the man who brought him here is no longer around. Prior to the draft three years ago, Shane Warne had been buttering up Maxwell – not that the 33-year-old needed much convincing to spend a few weeks of the summer in the capital.”When the draft happened, I wasn’t sure who I was going to go to, but as soon as I was picked up to London I was basically on the phone to Warnie pretty much nonstop,” Maxwell says. “Trying to work out the team and all that sort of stuff. Different combinations.”Warne, who died suddenly in March, had a rough time as Spirit head coach last summer, ruled out of a chunk of games after contracting Covid-19 at the start. Nevertheless, his enthusiasm remained undimmed. Warne had spent the winter planning on springing a surprise on the rest after finishing bottom in the regular season, with Maxwell central to his plans to make amends.”He said it was an amazing tournament to be a part of and all he was talking about after last year was ‘oh next year we’re going to get it right, it’s fine, you’ll be coming over’. The excitement in his voice, he spoke really passionately about it and, yeah, he loves this team.”He loved being able to almost brag about coaching the team playing at Lord’s, which was always quite funny. Being in the heart of London suited his lifestyle, he absolutely loved it here.”Much like Rajasthan Royals in this year’s IPL, then Hampshire in the Vitality Blast, the legendary Australian will be in Spirit’s thoughts as they go through their second campaign under new head coach Trevor Bayliss. Maxwell also hopes Warne will be able to have family representation at the odd game: “I got to see Jackson [Warne’s oldest child] the other day. It’s nice to see him over here and hopefully he can get to a game and see the boys play. I know he [Shane] would have loved to have been here.”Perhaps the surprising element to all this is the emotional attachment to a team he hasn’t even played for. Most of that is Warne, of course: the pair were thick as thieves, with plenty in common beyond being avid St Kilda supporters. But part of being Glenn Maxwell is knowing you need to be Glenn Maxwell when a tournament of this billing comes calling.

“I’ve got a long nine months on the road so it’s about getting my body right. Being able to be injury free for all that time is going to be key. Especially the wrong side of 30, you have to do all the right things”

There is little doubt the Hundred needs Maxwell more than he needs it, particularly with high-profile England Test players such as Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow resting from season two. But the challenge of a new environment, conditions and an altogether different format is exactly what he’s after as he begins his step-up in preparations for the home Twenty20 World Cup awaiting him in October. In turn, the competition, even for those four rounds, should benefit.”I think me personally, I’m trying to get my own preparation done for the World Cup. That’s my whole game at the moment, is gearing towards that T20 World Cup. I’ll use these conditions and the quality of teams and players in all those teams to hopefully get myself prepared. I know I’m only here for a short period of time but I’m going to be training with a goal in mind to be ready for that T20 World Cup.”I still think this is an exciting new tournament that I wanted to be involved in anyway. Even if there wasn’t a World Cup I’m still going to approach the game as I do every other game. It’s more the off-field stuff, I’m starting to prepare longer down the road.”A best-ever Big Bash League season, with 468 runs at an average of 42.54 for Melbourne Stars, was followed by a middling IPL with Royal Challengers Bangalore (301 across 13 innings and just one half-century), though his wedding during the early stages of the competition puts that in perspective. Then came a tour of Sri Lanka where, following ODI and T20I series, he came agonisingly close to a first Test cap since September 2017.And yet it is what lies ahead that Maxwell regards as a tougher period. Hence why the Hundred will be the start of his tuning up with a packed home summer on the horizon.”I’ve got a long nine months on the road so it’s about getting my body right. Being able to be injury free for all that time is going to be key. Especially the wrong side of 30, you have to do all the right things around your training and it’s certainly one of the things I’ve been working really hard at, to keep that consistency of training going and consistency of gym work to make sure I do stay injury free. And I know that’ll help in the back end of my career as well.”The card for all short-format cricketers is only growing, with the lucrative new UAE T20 league and South Africa’s own big-money offering, which are due to sandwich the BBL. As a contracted player with Cricket Australia – for the time being – organising his calendar is that little bit easier given they are his primary employer. But he has sympathy for those now spoilt for choice but having to sort their own path during what is both an exciting time for T20 cricketers but more precarious for those with irons in the fire elsewhere.”For the domestic player, there are so many opportunities all over the place,” he says. “Trying to organise your own schedule and pick and choose what you do left right and centre, that’ll be a nightmare. I’m probably going to be retiring at the right time in a few years – there are going to be T20 tournaments everywhere.”Maxwell is gearing his preparation towards Australia’s T20 World Cup defence•AFP/Getty ImagesThese next weeks in England should set him right. The lack of Covid-19 restrictions make it the best touring destination at the moment, a far cry from when Maxwell was last here at the end of the 2020 summer when he had and his Australia team-mates were kept to the bio-secure confines of the Ageas Bowl and Emirates Old Trafford for their white-ball tour. When he arrived for this stint, he grabbed a beer and dinner with Bayliss, something he did not take for granted. “I remember a couple of years ago, you’d be silly to think ‘oh it’s an amazing effort to get to the pub and just have a drink and a meal.’ But it just felt like you were normal again.”As for getting down to business, he is armed with some ideas on the Hundred, fuelled by his own observations and what he has learned from conversations with other cricketers. All underpinned by a pretty crucial love for someone in his line of work – mathematics.”Well, one of the things that they did say [to look out for] was the countdown,” he says of runs required and balls remaining ticking down in the chase – a quirk that caught some off-guard.”I think that’s a good way of trying to do it because saying you need 12 an over and saying you need two a ball, it’s the same thing. But sometimes it can sort of mess with the batter’s head a little bit and they said they struggled with that last year and it’s something that you’ve gotta get used to. But that’s why maths is something that you have to learn.”Marnus [Labuschange] isn’t that good at maths and, as a cricket nuffie, it has to be one of those things that you just know. I used to work on my maths just by net run rates watching Australia play England in a one-dayer, and I’d be working it out on the screen before it came up anywhere. And that’s how you get better, that’s how you work on things, but to be able to look at the scoreboard and just go okay, I need this, saves you so much stress and time. Marnus is there like trying to carry the one…”Interestingly, one prospect he is unsure of is bowling 10 deliveries straight. Last season, captains left the same bowler on around 10% of the time, with spinners bowling 69% of the 10-ball sets. As an off spinner with street smarts and a quick turnaround, Maxwell is an ideal candidate for that tactic.”I prefer to get five and just get out of the way. Whenever I bowl an over, even in the Big Bash, I bowl my sixth ball and I run. I’m like, I’ve got away with that. So I’m not sure about bowling 10 balls in a row. I think, unless you get the match-up right and we can keep them on strike, as a standard offspinner with not too many tricks it’s going to be hard to get away with 10 balls in a row. If you can get five and then come back on another five balls later that might work but I just think you need that break as a standard spinner.”Perhaps at some point over these first four games his skipper Eoin Morgan will be able to convince him otherwise, especially as Spirit used the 10-ball option more than any other team. One thing is for sure, Maxwell’s presence in the Hundred will enhance both its intrigue and cache.

Veteran will provide constant presence as Lancashire host Essex in Blast quarter-final

Paul Edwards06-Jul-2022Croft of Lancashire. It has a ring to it; an intimation of loyalty beyond question and certainly beyond contracts. It was the same with Stewart of Surrey (both of them), and one would like to think it will be the same with Fletcher of Nottinghamshire and Abell of Somerset. Some of the very best things in life are non-negotiable and it’s surely absurd to think of Steven Croft representing a county other than Lancashire.It’s hardly likely to happen, of course. Crofty is 37 now – that seems even dafter, by the way – and on Friday evening he will play his 224th T20 game when Lancashire host Essex in the Vitality Blast quarter-final. Those statistics include a record 148 consecutive appearances, the most by any player in English cricket and second in global terms only to Suresh Raina’s 158 appearances for Chennai Super Kings. Since he made his short-form debut for Lancashire in 2006, Croft has scored 4810 runs at a steady average around 30, he has pouched 130 catches and he has taken 78 wickets with his occasional off-spin. (His CV includes eight matches for Auckland in 2008-09 but those games hardly change the overall picture.)This year the off-spin has become very occasional indeed; in fact, there’s only been one over of it and maybe this is not surprising in a team that has often included Matt Parkinson, Liam Livingstone, Tom Hartley and Tim David. But if Croft’s bowling hasn’t been needed as much in 2022, his batting has become ever more valuable. He is Lancashire’s leading scorer with 422 runs at an average of 35.16 and he has notched three fifties, two of them at Blackpool, his old club. Going in at No.3, he has almost had time to build innings and to score important runs, even in a side that has included Livingstone, David, Salt, and Jos Buttler for one game.”My role’s changed a little bit,” Croft said. “I’ve always enjoyed batting at No.3 in the Blast, I’ve done a bit of it in the past and it’s nice to go in when the ball’s a bit harder. It suits my game to bat in the opening overs and I’ve been enjoying it. You think you’ll be in early and I always see that as an opportunity to stay positive. There’s not much of a lull after the Powerplay these days, everyone just keeps going. You might pick your bowlers and your ends but you go hard all the way through.”That reference to going hard runs a little counter to Rob Key’s view, which was expressed a few years ago, that twenty overs is longer than people might think. There is, so Key implied, time to take stock. But Croft’s career can be seen as a prism through which the development of English cricket can be viewed and T20 is now a format in which quiet overs are wasted overs. What’s more, everyone is expected to be able to bat and field and if you can chip in with a couple of cheeky overs of something funky, that’s all the better. And the need for all players to be able to bat was made clear on Sunday evening when Hartley marked the arrival of a new bat by hitting his first sixes in professional cricket, blows which ensured Lancashire bagged a home quarter-final.”It has been coming for Tom,” Croft said. “He’s always had that potential with the bat and he works on it but it was nice to see him get us over the line. But all the lads work on multiple skills and that includes the fielding as well. Even at 9, 10 or 11, you have to find a way to score and it’s the same with the ball. I’ve taken a back seat with that this season but I may need to do a little more on Friday.”Lancashire’s need for Croft’s all-round skills has been heightened by the fact that Livingstone, Salt, Parkinson and Gleeson have all been named in Buttler’s England squad for the three-match T20 series against India. Essex have not been weakened at all by international calls but maybe that balances things out a bit. After all, Lancashire have not lost a home T20 match for two years and Croft is grateful that he won’t be spending a big chunk of two days on a coach down to Chelmsford, a ground where he recalls the atmosphere being “boisterous to say the least” the last time Lancashire played a quarter-final there in 2010. They were hammered by eight wickets on an evening when New Writtle Street bore a passable imitation to Upton Park.”Being unbeaten at home for 14 games is a great feat and I think we’re up there in terms of matches won,” Croft said. “So we can go into this match with a degree of confidence, not just in historical terms but also based on our recent record. We’ve played some really great cricket at Emirates Old Trafford this season.Related

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“But it’s also useful in terms of preparation because we don’t have to get on the coach again or spend another night away from our beds. It’s saved a lot of miles on the round-trip and we’ll also have a couple of days practice at home. It’s nice to be back at Old Trafford where we all have our own space and our own lockers.”As to the absences, Croft insists Lancashire have coped with such things before but he acknowledges that T20 is such a skittish game that one over or even a couple of balls can transform a match. Just ask Hartley.”If you get out of your group, anyone can have a field day against you in the shorter formats,” Croft added. “All you can do is be on it all the time but even the best teams in the world have a win rate around 60%.”And should Lancashire qualify for their ninth Finals Day, Croft hopes that England’s next white-ball series – a 50-over series against India – will not prevent any county fielding its strongest side.”There’s an England match either side of T20 Finals Day but that Saturday in Edgbaston is one of the biggest occasions in the calendar,” he said. “You want to play with the best against the best and then no one has any excuses. It’ll be disappointing if our England lads aren’t available but we understand that there’s a hectic international schedule. At the same time, I’d love to see everyone available to play in front of a packed house at Edgbaston.”

Where sides have stumbled, it has been on selection

Ian Chappell06-Nov-2022Australian World Cups when played this early in the season are generally exciting because the pitches give bowlers a chance. Conditions have to be taken into account, and on seam-friendly pitches it’s more difficult to score quickly early. A higher net run rate is often achieved by having skilful players at the crease later in the innings.Upsets and the weather always play an important role in the excitement of T20, but cricket is a better game when the bowlers are a feature of the entertainment. The good sides that bowled well have prevailed.Another important point in the round-robin section is to win by a decent margin, but if you lose, make it a small defeat.Related

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It was the huge first-up loss to New Zealand that caused Australia’s run-rate to plummet and eventually bring them heartache. However, a look at the overall results shows that Australia’s bowling was their Achilles’ heel.While a big defeat is more unexpected than an upset, it is too simple to blame Australia’s predicament on one huge loss. Their selection during the series was puzzling and reflected an uncertainty about their best combination.Selectors need to be careful about a player’s success in domestic tournaments. Australia suffered on this count and found out it pays to test players before a World Cup to ensure they can succeed against the best opposition.New Zealand and South Africa prospered on the back of very good bowling. In particular, South Africa’s fast bowling, spearheaded by Anrich Nortje, has been their strength. However, their sometimes fragile batting and a reputation for imploding in vital World Cup matches make them a dicey proposition in the semi-finals.New Zealand continued to prosper in a World Cup by backing a familiar formula – they fielded brilliantly and competed at every turn. They added to the formula with the exhilarating batting power of Finn Allen and Glenn Phillips. If this World Cup follows a similar pattern to previous encounters, New Zealand’s steadiness under pressure and South Africa’s well-documented ability to crumble will play a part.While India, after a hectic win over rivals Pakistan, have progressed to the knockout phase, their bowling and selection are a concern. The exclusion of Rishabh Pant is inexcusable. If you ask opponents about dangerous players, his name will always be high on the list. Another factor in Pant’s favour is his ability to take an attack apart at any time during the innings, not just at the death. If there’s any further doubt about his selection, Pant’s keeping is easily the best in the Indian squad.It has been shown that an accumulator is important under Australian conditions, as proved by Virat Kohli of India and Kane Williamson of New Zealand. Although Kohli is the more accomplished six-hitter, Williamson did a job for New Zealand by ensuring they had stability in the innings while their enforcers hammered away.Kohli’s ability to score heavily from traditional cricket shots confirms his value as a batter in any format. His mantra to not to let fancy shots infiltrate his Test game should be heeded by all cricketers. The odd player like England captain Jos Buttler are endowed with the ability to play fancy shots regularly, but his capabilities aren’t shared by many. Buttler manipulates the field beautifully and also has the power to post big scores, but it’s telling that in Australia his innings built to a peak.England’s spin bowling hasn’t been convincing and they need to improve in the semi-finals. Nevertheless, in a tight finish, the steady nerves of Sam Curran’s accurate medium pace will be important; he has been one of England’s unsung heroes.The Australian World Cup has provided the usual T20 upsets and has shown the value of bowlers on friendly surfaces. The in-form teams have fared well but the knockout stage is hard to predict, confirming that T20 cricket loves upsets.

All the important numbers from India’s emphatic 88-run win over England in Canterbury

Sampath Bandarupalli22-Sep-2022333 for 5 – India’s total in Canterbury is their second-highest in women’s ODIs, behind 358 for 2 that they recorded against Ireland in 2017. It is also the second-highest score by any team against England in this format, second only to Australia’s 356 for 5 in the World Cup final earlier this year.143* – Harmanpreet Kaur’s score in the second ODI is now the highest by an India captain in women’s ODIs. Mithali Raj’s 125* against Sri Lanka in 2018 in Katunayake was the previous best for. Harmanpreet’s score is also the third-highest individual score for India in this format.ESPNcricinfo Ltd1999 – The last instance of India Women winning an ODI series against England in England. India lost all six bilateral series played between the two sides in the country since then.2- India are only the second team to win an ODI series in England in the last 15 years after Australia, who won in 2015 and 2019. England have been victorious in 17 of the 20 bilateral ODI series they have played at home in this period.1 – Harmanpreet’s 143 not out is the highest individual score in an ODI against England in England. Sophie Devine’s 117* in 2018 was the previous highest, while Debbie Hockley and Lizelle Lee also scored 117 against the hosts in 1996 and 2018 respectively.

It often feels like no one in the history of cricket leading up to Pujara has batted quite like Pujara

Karthik Krishnaswamy15-Feb-20234:28

25 Questions: What makes Cheteshwar Pujara angry?

R Ashwin has 100 lbws in Test cricket, and he has had several times as many appeals turned down. Seldom, however, can he have appealed as loudly, or for as long, or as beseechingly in a Test match as he did when he hit Cheteshwar Pujara’s front pad in the Delhi nets on Wednesday.Bowling from around the wicket, Ashwin had drifted one across Pujara, whose response was to thrust his pad at the ball and offer no shot.Ashwin appealed, paused, and appealed again. Sairaj Bahutule, the spin-bowling consultant at the National Cricket Academy and occasional umpire, gestured to suggest, so it seemed, that the ball hadn’t straightened enough to hit the stumps.Related

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Some two minutes later, another appeal split the air. This time it was Axar Patel, pleading with Bahutule to give Pujara out after he had stepped out of his crease and thrust his bat and pad, so close to each other that they were almost one entity, at the ball.Bahutule shook his head. Not out.Those two balls contained so much of the essence of Pujara, and what Ashwin – in an appreciation he penned ahead of his colleague’s 100th Test match – refers to as his greatness “at playing percentages against spin”.Nathan Lyon, who has bowled more balls to Pujara than anyone else in Test cricket, would testify to that. In series after series against Australia, Pujara has used his feet to Lyon, and on numerous occasions when he has been beaten in the air, thrust his pad at the ball with bat tucked by its side or often just behind it.Each time Lyon has appealed in his theatrical manner, sinking to his knees with arms spread wide, and almost every time the verdict has been not out. Pujara has almost always been far enough out of his crease to put doubt in the umpire’s mind, while almost always ensuring that his pad is outside the line of off stump, and while almost always giving the impression that he has made a genuine effort to play the ball with his bat.Few batters play percentages against spin better than Pujara•Getty ImagesLyon has bowled 1158 balls to Pujara in Test cricket, and roared out what has seemed like hundreds of lbw appeals. He has dismissed Pujara ten times, but lbw only once.Playing the percentages. Few have done it better, or more adroitly, or more watchably.For a batter who often scores runs at a glacial pace, and for one whose style isn’t conventionally attractive, Pujara has somehow always been riveting to watch. It’s perhaps because his methods are so different to those of his contemporaries.Pujara is a throwback in some respects. In an almost entirely bat-up era, his stance is resolutely bat-down, even against pace. At a time when nearly every other batter defends against spin with bat in front of pad, he defends with bat next to pad. In the age of DRS, he’s often happy to trust his judgment and offer his pad to offspinners if he thinks the ball isn’t going to hit the stumps. And he uses his feet not just to attack but defend too.But he isn’t just a throwback. In some ways, he is a proper one-off, a batter with no stylistic forebearers, beating a classical rhythm with an autodidact’s technique. It often feels like no one in the history of cricket leading up to Pujara has batted quite like Pujara, with that low grip, top hand twisted so far around the handle that the bowler can almost see the back of his glove.That grip allows him to defend later and closer to his body than pretty much anyone in world cricket, and it has given him a repertoire of strokes all his own: a drive through mid-off that’s a flick by strict definition; a twirling, elaborate leg-side flick that ends with the toe of his bat pointing to square leg; a rasping square-cut, often played with both feet off the ground, that he can play even when he doesn’t have a lot of width to work with; and a swivelling, seemingly off-balance hook that makes you feel you’re watching footage from a 1940s newsreel.Over his 99 Tests, he has rationed his shots judiciously, to be brought out when the bowling and conditions permit their use. He will go months without pulling or hooking fast bowlers, and out of nowhere play the shot four times in a session. The area behind the wicket on the off side is a heavy scoring zone for him, usually, but on two-paced pitches he will go hours without opening his bat face to play in that direction.Over all the innings he has played over all these years, Pujara’s methods have grown familiar not just to viewers mesmerised by his methods but to his opponents as well.A Pujara special – rasping square-cut with both feet off the ground•Chris Hyde/Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesFast bowlers now routinely put an extra fielder on the leg side – often at leg gully – and attack Pujara’s stumps. Spinners bowl to him with a straight short midwicket, narrowing the gap between that fielder and mid-on, a gap Pujara loves to target with his dancing on-drive. Lyon stations a silly point most times when Pujara comes to the crease now, hoping to get him caught pad-bat, or at least to dissuade his prancing bat-pad thrusts with the risk of run-out now magnified.Where other batters have changed their game in dramatic ways to counter these plans, Pujara has trusted stubbornly in the soundness of his methods. Barring small adjustments every batter makes from innings to innings, like changing their guard by a few inches or opening up their stance, Pujara simply bats like Pujara.It’s why you feel a shock of familiarity when you watch highlights of his old innings. The Virat Kohli of 2012 looked like an entirely different person and batted in an entirely different way to the Virat Kohli of 2023. Watch this video, and the Pujara of 2012 is, well, just Pujara – yes, he ramped short balls over the slip cordon even then.Without that link, you would have needed to search long and hard on the official BCCI site to find any footage of what remains one of Pujara’s greatest hundreds, a first-innings 135 on a Wankhede Stadium track with generous turn and bounce against the only bowling attack that’s won a Test series in India since 2004. The video is a short and unsatisfying one, containing mostly boundaries against England’s fast bowlers, and nothing of his brilliant defence against their spinners.That it’s a struggle to find even that is perhaps the biggest misfortune of Pujara’s career, and the careers of his long-time team-mates, who have combined to pull off some of India’s greatest triumphs overseas while turning them near-invincible at home. The away highlights of their careers are easier to find than the home highlights, adding to the feeling that India’s home successes are taken for granted, and that the contributions of their bowlers and batters to these successes are hugely underappreciated.It wasn’t always so. Sachin Tendulkar’s career was defined as much by the 136 as the 114, and Rahul Dravid’s as much by the 180 as the 148, to the extent that if you’re an Indian fan of a certain generation, the scores are enough to know what’s being referred to. You can find footage, extended footage in some cases, of all these innings.Not so with Pujara. At a time when it should be easier than ever for cricket fans to summon up their favourite spells and innings, the recent past of India’s home Tests has become a no-go zone.But fans of Pujara, though not as vocal or numerous as fans of Kohli or Rohit Sharma, watch their man closely, almost transfixed by his one-of-a-kind methods. Their memories are a storehouse of Pujara moments, and they are hoping there is plenty more to add, from his 100th Test and beyond.