Form is temporary, class is permanent: Pujara

Johannesburg, Jan 5 (UNI) India top-order batter Cheteshwar Pujara on Wednesday ended his struggle with form as he batted with lot of quality and intent, and finally brought up his half-century in Test cricket.
On Day 3 of the ongoing second Test between India and South Africa, Pujara along with Ajinkya Rahane, another batter struggling with lean phase, recorded a century partnership with their brisk batting.
“There’s backing from the management. Yes, sometimes questions come to mind when there’s a bad form. But we (Rahane and I) are confident players. Form is temporary, class is permanent. We’ve done well in the past. Once you’re back in form, you go on,” said Pujara in a virtual press conference.
In spite of the outside noise and criticism, the team management backed them for the India tour of South Africa. And the duo delivered when they found themselves under immense pressure.
“Management has always been supportive. It’s just the outside noise. The supporting staff and captain are always behind players. When you follow the right process, you get runs,” he added.
Pujara, who is considered India’s new wall, batted unusually fast in his 86-ball 53, while Rahane played a knock of 58 off 78 balls.
When asked whether it was conscious decision to bat fast, Pujara said, “It was a conscious decision. Pitch has variable bounce. So it was part of my game plan. Whenever I got loose balls I made sure to convert them. I’m happy things went well. The partnership with Ajinkya was crucial.”
The top-order batter added that he had discussions with both the chief coach Rahul Dravid and batting coach Vikram Rathour on his batting.
“I talked to Rahul bhai and Vikram bhai about technique.”
India set a target of 240 for South Africa but are in a tight spot as the hosts reached 118/2 at stumps on Day 3. South Africa need another 122 runs to win and level the series, which is part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC).
However, Pujara feels the match is still balanced and India have a chance as the pitch will deteriorate on fourth day.
“It’s important to always get runs especially on challenging pitches. We’ve runs on board and the match is balanced. Pitch will deteriorate tomorrow. So we’ve a chance,” he said.
India are led by stand-in captain KL Rahul as regular Test skipper Virat Kohli was ruled out of the match just before the toss due to an upper back spasm.
“Can’t tell officially. He’s (Kohli) is getting better. An update by BCCI will be given soon,” Pujara signed off.