Murali Vijay lauds Cheteshwar Pujara's pressure handling, backs Virat Kohli to bounce back

New Delhi: A run of dismal performances in the ongoing Test series between India and Australia continued for Virat Kohli after failed to contribute with his bat yet again in the first innings of the Ranchi Test on Saturday. Thanks to a brilliant ton by Cheteshwar Pujara, India fought back in their chase of Australia's first innings total of 451 and Murali Vijay couldn't stop but hail Pujara's pressure handling skills.

The India opener said that centurion Pujara's ability to absorb pressure makes it easier for the other batsmen to play their natural game. (IND vs AUS, Ranchi Test, Day 4 - Live Blog | Full Coverage)

Pujara batted through the day to remain unbeaten on 130 and keep India afloat at 360 for six, 91 runs short of Australia's first innings total of 451 on Day 3 of the their Test.

Heaping praise on Pujara, Vijay said: "Pujara has the game for it. He takes a lot pressure. His game is such that you can depend on him and play your natural game. It goes hand in hand. We both are in good form as well, so it helps the team at the moment."

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"Pujara was rock solid. Hopefully he can put up a great show for us tomorrow. Definitely run scoring was difficult, they too bowled very good areas. If I had gone through to lunch, it would have been a different story altogether," he further said.

Aussie speedster Pat Cummins, who had taken 4 wickets in the innings by the close of play on Day 3, also removed Indian skipper Virat Kohli, who continued his lean patch and got out for six. But Vijay came out in his captain's support.

"He's a world class player. To judge any player on two three innings is unfair. It's just a matter of time for him to get back into runs. I think it would be sooner than later," he continued.

The Chennai-born batsman then went on to analyse his 82-run knock and expressed disappointment at not being able to convert it into a hundred.

"I was not disappointed actually because the shot was on. With mid-on, mid-off inside, I thought it was my shot but situation was wrong I guess and the execution was not up to the mark.

"The previous ball before I got out, I saw there was not much spin. I thought fine, there was scoring opportunity for me. I backed my instinct but it did not come out my way," he explained.

On his 50th Test appearance, Vijay said: "It's a great feeling to be honest. I can still remember the first time I joined the Indian team. All I can say is I'm grateful, It's a great journey so far. Hopefully I can keep my fitness level and keep prolonging my career. The Lord's Test win is one thing that stands out."

"I wouldn`t rate it as a good innings," Vijay said after the day`s play at the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) Stadium here.

"I fought out there, and that`s what matters. KL (Lokesh Rahul) batted really well yesterday, I wanted to feed off his energy. I just wanted to play tight cricket. Today I wanted to push myself a little harder," he added.

Vijay, coming back into the side from an injury, scored 82 off 183 balls stitching together a 102-run stand for the second wicket with marathon man Cheteshwar Pujara, who remained unbeaten on 130 off 328 deliveries.

(With Agencies inputs)