Form is temporary, class is permanent. That’s what Cheteshwar Pujara kept telling himself as he went in to bat during India’s second innings on Day II of this second Test in Johannesburg.

Even Sunil Gavaskar, during commentary, had said the innings could well be Pujara’s last if he failed to get a significant score. For Pujara, though, self doubt hadn’t crept in at all even as he played under massive pressure.

“We have been learning from Sunnybhai, who has been always supportive.

“Yes, there are times when we went through a bad patch and there have been questions raised, but myself and Ajinkya (Rahane) have always been confident. We know we are working hard on our game, while there is this saying: form is temporary, class is permanent. I think that applies here too,” Pujara said after end of play on Day III at the Wanderers.

“We have done the job in the past and the team management too has shown a lot of faith in us that will pay off for sure. That has already paid off, in fact, but I feel as we keep playing more and regain form, we will keep scoring runs,” Pujara emphasised.

Especially on such a challenging wicket, even a score of 53 appears as good as a century. What worked for Pujara is following the “right routine, processes and work ethic”.

“It was a conscious decision (to play more shots) looking at the pitch, which has variable bounce. When you get a loose ball, you have to put it away because you never know when you might get an unplayable one.

“So it was part of my game plan to make use of the loose balls. But I didn’t do anything extra. It has been one of those days when things went as per my plans,” Pujara explained.

Pant approach

Pujara backed Rishabh Pant even after the wicketkeeper-batsman, facing what was just his third ball, danced down the track and was caught behind off Kagiso Rabada’s bowling. “Rishabh is a young player and can still bring in changes to his game, and what shots he needs to play and avoid.

“After every game, the coach and the captain will definitely be telling him that and as he moves forward, he will improve as a player,” Pujara said.

Kohli ‘better’

Regular captain Virat Kohli, out of the game due to upper back spasm, is recovering well, Pujara said. “He’s definitely getting better and I hope he will recover soon.”