Cheteshwar Pujara was all praises for all-rounder Hardik Pandya after he scored 93 and bailed out India from a precarious situation in the first innings of first Test against South Africa at Newlands on Saturday. Pandya with his outstanding performance helped India in crossing the of 200 runs when half of visitors side were sent back to pavilion before even scoring 100 runs.

While talking about Pandya, Pujara said, “Everyone believed he (Pandya) can play such an innings and he played his shots and the environment in the dressing room became quite positive. Those runs were very important for the team and they kept us in the game.”

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“If he hadn’t scored those runs, we would have been in trouble. So I think he kept us in the game and got us two wickets also at the end of day’s play. So his performance was outstanding,” he added.

In Pandya’s all round performance, Pujara specially liked the character that Hardik had shown.

“He batted really well and showed a lot of character. He hasn’t played many Test matches away from home but this is the kind of innings (he played) we expected it from him if he played in the playing XI.”

“I think if someone who is very promising, he is batting well, bowling well, it makes a lot of difference to the team because when you have a very good all-rounder, it balances your team combination. I hope he continues with this,” Pujara added.

“It was a case of him playing his natural game. He is someone who likes to play his shots. That’s how he would bat in any situation. This was the ideal situation for him to express himself and the moment he tries playing his shots he has been successful.”

“We have seen that against Sri Lanka as well. When he started playing his shots, he was a different player altogether. That’s how he should be playing and this is what makes him a different player from a top order batsman,” Pujara said.

While talking about the first Test match, Pujara said India played well and a target of 350 runs can be achieved on Newlands track.

“Overall, I think we played well today and we are very much in the game. We got two wickets today and if we bowl well tomorrow, and if we are chasing somewhere around 350, I think, we are very much in the game,” Pujara concluded.