Salman Butt reckons Cheteshwar Pujara should've scored 70 runs at least after facing over 200 balls

Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt is not happy with the way Cheteshwar Pujara batted on the fourth day of the Lord’s Test match versus England. He feels India’s number three should have shown more intent while scoring runs after playing cautiously in the initial stages. The right-hand batter waded a tricky little period when he saw the top-order batters KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli depart cheaply.

Pujara formed a crucial 100-run stand with vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane and batted for 206 balls and scored 45 runs. His slow knock yet again didn’t go well with the critics and experts who felt he could have batted more briskly once he was settled. Butt too believed on a good batting wicket at Lord’s, Pujara should have cashed in on a start.

“After India lost three wickets, their defensive mechanism was on. Obviously, they would have been worried. Had they lost a few more wickets, the game could have been over the same day. But, speaking about Cheteshwar Pujara, he faced more than 200 balls and scored 45 runs. After being so experienced, if you are facing over 200 balls, I think you should be able to score at least 70 runs. The pitch did not offer a lot of movement. England kept things very tight early on. But once that was gone, there should have been a better flow of runs. That did not happen," he said.

Butt concluded by saying that Pujara should have added 30 to 40 runs more, which could have been beneficial for India later in the innings. “Everyone is saying that India is 30-35 runs short as of now. Pujara could have scored those runs,” Butt added.