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Cheteshwar Pujara's batsmanship for India shows England the way, says Mike Atherton

Image: Pujara: hit 21 fours off 389 deliveries in his unbeaten 206

Cheteshwar Pujara propelled India to a formidable position with a "brilliant exhibition of batsmanship" on day two of the first Test against England, according to Mike Atherton.

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Hammer-blow
Former England captain Atherton dismissed the idea that the tourists' batsmen lacked practice going into the first Test, but admitted that they now need to show plenty of resolve if they are to rise to the challenge and get on a par with India's first innings. "I'm sure England knew that India were going to bowl a lot of spin at them but it's one thing knowing what's coming, it's an entirely different thing being capable of playing it," he said. "It was a perfect situation for India; they had 521 on the board at the end of the second day with 18 overs remaining and no chance for England's batsmen to get in and get a big score. They could crowd the bat; the pitch is beginning to break up although I don't think it has changed massively since the first day. But there's no doubt that it's more worn that it was. "England really needed to get through tonight - maybe losing one wicket maximum. Losing the three is a bit of a hammer-blow and they know they've got a long, hard road ahead." He added: "England are not undercooked - they've had three practice games but, of course, they haven't faced much spin in those practice games. That's been a very deliberate tactic from India to keep England away from spin in the warm-up games and provide a pitch on which India's spinners can enjoy themselves. "That's playing in India - it's sub-continental cricket. You know you are not going to get a diet of medium- pace and the ball nibbling around. It's going to be spin. Now, England do have some good players of spin but as we saw last winter they are more likely to struggle in these kind of conditions than they would do at home. "The contrast between the conditions in which we saw India get absolutely walloped 4-0 by England to what we are seeing now could not be more extreme; that's the challenge of the game, of course, to adapt your game to different conditions when you travel."

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