India, led by KL Rahul, defeated Bangladesh 2-0 in the second and final Test at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium in Mirpur to sweep the series. Cheteshwar Pujara was named Player of the Series after ending his international century drought and contributing significantly to India’s victory in the first Test at Chattogram. In the first Test, Pujara scored 90 and an undefeated 102 runs across both innings, which was crucial to their triumph over the Bangla Tigers. After the victory in Mirpur, former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif made a somewhat amusing request to the Test expert.
“After scoring a hundred, your celebration is just too simple. Kuch karo bhai, bat ghumao, aise punch karo (do something, show your bat, punch in the air) because they show those visuals a lot on TV so people will also remember that yes Pujara has been scoring runs. Or else the talk is always on strike rate or how slow you play,” told Kaif in a post-match interview as quoted by HT. “Yeh jo trophy mila hai na, pappi do trophy ko, social media mein daalo (This trophy that you got, kiss that trophy, put that picture on social media) and tell people that you played well and made a superb comeback to win the Player of the Series award. Please, Pujara,” requested the former cricketer.
Pujara was taken aback by Kaif’s plea during the post-game interview, but he gracefully responded by adding that he believes in “contributing for the team.” “The fact that I am scoring runs is enough for me. My bat does all the talking. More than celebrations, I believe in runs and contributing for the team. Celebrating too much is not part of my nature,” responded Pujara.
India has firmly established themselves in second place in the ICC World Test Championship standings thanks to their victory against Bangladesh in the Mirpur Test match. In essence, this indicates that the team is getting closer to a berth in the summit match of the international ICC competition for the cycle 2021–23. The WTC Table Toppers, Australia, are their next red-ball opponent, and they play them at home beginning on February 9.