We can win in any condition: Pujara ahead of 1st Test vs SA

HE is under pressure for his personal form but India middle-order batter Cheteshwar Pujara is no less confident when it comes to chances of his country winning the upcoming Test series in South Africa starting Boxing Day (26).

The two teams will lock horns at the SuperSport Park in Centurion in the first of the three matches and Pujara has expressed confidence over the visitors’ ability to accomplish something they have never done before – winning a Test series in South Africa saying the team “can win in any condition”.

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The ace batter, who has seen a slump in his form in recent times, recently told bcci.tv, the website of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, “We know what is expected of our team; and when it comes to preparation, all of us are ready and we know what is expected. I think having done well in England and Australia will make a big, big difference in this squad’s confidence and self-belief that we can win overseas, we can win in any condition. We have the capacity to win a series in South Africa.”

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The 33-year-old batter has played seven Tests in South Africa in his career so far and scored 411 runs at an average of 31.61 with one hundred which came in the 2013 tour. In the 2018 tour, Pujara had a less flourishing outing and could manage only one fifty in three matches.

His last century in the long format, the only one in which he represents India, came in 2019 and he will be eager to regain some touch in the upcoming tour. Pujara is also just eight Tests short of his 100th.

On an earlier occasion, too, Pujara had said that the upcoming tour of South Africa is India’s “best opportunity” to win a Test series in South Africa.

“The good thing is we played a couple of Test matches in India. So most of the guys are in touch, and when it comes to preparation, the support staff has been excellent. They have been supporting us well and we have five or six days more before we head into the first Test,” he was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

“I am sure there is enough time for us to prepare and guys are looking forward to this series. This is the best opportunity for us to win our first series in South Africa. So all of us are looking forward to it,” he added.

India will be captained by Virat Kohli in the upcoming series but miss the service of Rohit Sharma, who was initially picked as the vice-captain of the squad but ruled out due to a hamstring injury sustained during a practice session.