WTC Final 2023 – IND vs AUS: India star Cheteshwar Pujara currently is honing his skills at Sussex ahead of the World Test Championship Final 2023. And to everyone’s surprise, Pujara is now not alone, as Australian batter Steve Smith has joined the Indian star at Sussex. They faced off against one another in Ahmedabad in March, and they will do so once more at The Oval in June, but for the upcoming few weeks, Cheteshwar Pujara and Steven Smith will be teammates at Sussex.
With three County Championship games to play before the World Test Championship final against India and the subsequent five-match series against England, Smith joins the county this week for his rather contentious pre-Ashes tenure.
Pujara has been in excellent form for Sussex so far this season. The prolific right-hander has already scored two hundreds from three games and leads the County Championship, the second division of English cricket, in runs scored.
Prior to the World Test Championship final in June, Sussex will have the pleasure of having Smith join the team for three games, and Pujara intends to learn from the seasoned Australian in his capacity as captain.
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“He (Smith) is a great influence to have in the team and the guys will be looking forward to having him in the dressing room and will try and have a chat to him and learn from him, just to see how he prepares as he has a lot of experience,” Pujara told Sussex Cricket.
“We are all looking forward to having him here and sharing his experience as he has a lot of knowledge about the game and it will be nice to have his input,” added Pujara
When Sussex travels to Worcestershire for the four-day match that starts on Thursday, Pujara confessed that he has never played in the same team as Smith.
“We have spoken, but most of the time we have played against each other. It is never for the same team, so it will be exciting and I will try and get his thoughts, try and know him a little better. We will be playing WTC final (against each other), so it will be mixed feelings. On the field, we always have good battles, but off the field we are good friends,” Pujara said.
Cheteshwar Pujara in-form ahead of WTC Final 2023
When India lost to New Zealand in the first World Test Championship final in 2021, Pujara only managed to score 8 and 15, and the 35-year-old will be eager to improve on those performances in the one-off Test against Australia at The Oval starting on June 7.
Currently, Pujara in good form, the India No. 3 a patient 151-ball century against Gloucestershire recently.
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