You never know with the SG pink ball, it might swing or not: Pujara

India annihilated England by 317 runs on a rank-turner at Chepauk to level the four-match series one-all and all eyes are now on the pitch here for the third Test begins from February 24. India does not have a lot of experience with the pink-ball, having played just two games. 

“We are not sure how much the ball is going to swing around for this particular Test,” Pujara said in a virtual media interaction after the first net session. 

“Early on it might swing a bit, but maybe going forward as the match progresses, it might not be a lot of swing but we never know with the pink ball it’s very difficult to predict.” Pujara said the pitch looked a decent one to him but ‘a lot could change with three-four days left for the Test’. 

“It’s a different ball game with the red ball. With the pink ball, it’s very difficult to judge or assess anything before the match begins because sometimes you’re expecting something but it turns out something else with a pink ball. 

“I would just try to keep things very simple as a player, and not worry too much about the pitch,” Pujara said. On the Motera stadium, he said: “It’s a new stadium, it’s a new pitch. Once we play more games we’ll get to know about the pitch. But it’s a beautiful stadium we all are enjoying here. We had a gym session yesterday. “Personally, I’ve some fond memories of the last time I played in 2012 which was right after my engagement.” 

India has so far hosted a solitary pink ball Test against Bangladesh on a green top at Eden Gardens in November 2019 as it bulldozed its neighbour by an innings and 46 runs inside three days. 

Pujara said playing a pink-ball game at home is a different challenge altogether. “It was a different ballgame altogether, we were playing in Australia. The ball was swinging around a lot and we had a bad session, one and half hours of poor batting that led to the disaster. 

“Here we are playing in our own conditions, the ball is also different with the SG ball and the guys have played a (pink ball) Test with the SG ball so we are pretty confident that we will put up a good show.” 

The India No 3 has not been able to convert his starts and was dismissed by English left-arm spinner Jack Leach in successive Tests at Chepauk. But Pujara said he’s confident about his batting and preparation and a three-figure mark is just ‘a matter of time’.