"He reminded me of Cheteshwar Pujara" - Sanjay Bangar lauds Rohit Sharma's controlled knock in 1st IND vs AUS Test

Sanjay Bangar has said that Rohit Sharma's approach against the Australian spinners reminded him of Cheteshwar Pujara's batting in the 2018-19 tour Down Under.

Rohit scored 120 off 212 in India's 400-run first innings total in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy opener in the first Test in Nagpur. The hosts went on to win the game by a massive innings and 132-run margin inside three days.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Bangar was asked about his thoughts on Rohit Sharma's knock, to which he responded:

"The best thing for me was that the intent was good in any case, but he even stepped out and defended quite a few balls. He reminded me of Cheteshwar Pujara because the way Cheteshwar Pujara defeated Australia in Australia, Rohit Sharma defeated the spinners in the same way in India."

The former Indian batting coach praised Rohit for exercising caution even after dancing the pitch to the spinners:

"He came down the pitch quite a few times and defended. Usually, players or batters intend to play big shots after stepping out, but he continued to restrain himself and he showed that, by doing it exceptionally well."

Pujara amassed 521 runs at an outstanding average of 74.42 in the four Tests of the 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The dogged batter played 1258 deliveries in the series and scored his runs at a strike rate of 41.41.

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"He batted differently on the two days" - Sanjay Bangar on Rohit Sharma's knock

Rohit Sharma was at his aggressive best on Day 1 of the Nagpur Test. (P/C: BCCI)

Bangar highlighted the contrast between Rohit's approach on the first and second day of the Nagpur Test, explaining:

"He batted differently on the two days. When he came on the first day, the approach was different. He knew he had to capitalise because once a team is down, you need to be aggressive at the same time. When they bowled better, he took a slightly defensive approach. It doesn't mean that he didn't attack the loose balls."

Irfan Pathan added that the Indian captain was meticulous in his approach against the Australian seamers as well, elaborating:

"When the fast bowlers were bowling the hard lengths, where you can neither go forward nor back, he batted with great respect and concentration there. When he got the balls slightly short or on the leg side, then he pulled it brilliantly as well."

Rohit hit 15 fours and two sixes during his innings. He hit a maximum each against Nathan Lyon and Australian captain Pat Cummins. He smashed the off-spinner straight down the ground after going down the track and pulled Cummins over deep square leg.