Captain Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane’s dismissals have given Australia “a little bit of advantage”, but the first Test still remains evenly poised, feels Cheteshwar Pujara.

Talking to reporters at a virtual media conference after end of play on Day I at the Adelaide Oval, Pujara said: “Yes, losing Virat and Ajinkya give Australia a little bit of advantage, but if we can get to around 275-300 and if our lower-order batsmen can push our total to almost 350, we are certainly in with a good chance then.”

The India No. 3 batsman took a long time to get his first boundary, but not for once did he feel he batted too slowly during the opening day’s play of this Day-Night pink-ball Test.

Asked if he could have paced his innings better, Pujara said he had no regrets on the way he went about after India won the toss and opted to bat. “Not at all. We were in a very good position in the first two sessions.

“We needed to make sure that we didn’t lose wickets early on. It was a great day of Test cricket and there are no regrets at all about the strategy. We couldn’t have lost more wickets playing shots and getting bowled out in a day,” Pujara emphasised. Highlighting the need to stay patient in Test matches, Pujara added: “Test cricket needs patience. If the wicket is flat, you can be aggressive, but when it’s helping the bowlers, you can’t play too many shots.

“In overseas conditions, you don’t want a total of less than 200 in your first innings. In the first two sessions, the bowlers are fresh and the pitch is fresh as well,” he said.

Talking about his duel with Nathan Lyon, who eventually dismissed him, Pujara was effusive in his praise. “He gets a lot of revs (revolutions) on the ball, while his line and length has also improved over the last four-five years,” Pujara said.