India scored 240 runs on Day 3, of which 130 came from Cheteshwar Pujara. While the rest of the Indian batsmen were left reeling from the pace and accuracy with which Pat Cummins was bowling, Pujara remained a study in calmness. Around him, Cummins took out the Indian batsmen one by one, ably assisted by Josh Hazlewood, Steve O'Keefe and Nathan Lyon. The only time in the day when Pujara looked a bit shaken was when Hazlewood bowled a brute of a short delivery in the 69th over. It came off his arm guard as he tried to raise his bat to guard himself. India's batting line up has had a reality check in this series. They made 600-plus totals on a regular basis in previous three series leading up to this one on the back of some incredible individual performances. These include Karun Nair's triple ton, KL Rahul's 199 and India's most dependable captain Virat Kohli. Australia, however, have found the answer to Kohli and in this series, he has thus far failed to score more than twenty runs in any of his innings. They poured water into India's biggest cannon with the bat and suddenly the hosts have looked vulnerable with the bat on home turf. Collapses seem imminent and Steve Smith's side genuinely believe that any total is defendable against the number one Test team if they bowl in the right areas. But in the previous two Test, they were single-handedly denied by Pujara, and his patience. He is the man who is ready to do the dirty work and grind out the runs. On Saturday, Pujara faced 120 balls to get his first 28 runs. But, in the next 100 balls he scored 77 runs mostly in the second session. In the third session, he slowed down again. Pujara's solid defence stood him in great stead as his 11th Test century underlined the virtue of playing along the turf, minimising risks. The Saurashtra batsman had made an effort to change his batting style, openly admitting that he wants to shake off the tag of 'Test specialist.' He did play the aggressor on numerous occasions against England and Bangladesh. It may have won India matches but it didn't pay any personal dividends for him. He was, once again, unsold in the IPL Auctions. Since then, he seems to have gone back to doing what he is comfortable with. In doing so, he may have, on Day 3, saved India from being in a very uncomfortable position in this match.
