India pacer Mohammed Siraj hailed Cheteshwar Pujara for his gritty half-century on Day 3 of the rescheduled fifth Test against England and said the veteran batsman steps up when the situation gets difficult.
At stumps, India are 125/3 in 45 overs, with Pujara stitching an unbeaten stand of 50 with Rishabh Pant (30 not out). The visitors extended the overall lead to 257.
"He (Pujara) is a warrior. In Australia, he did it and here also, he is doing the job. Whenever the team requires, he always stands up. When the tough situation arises, he is always there to do the job,” Siraj said.
"Bowling to him is difficult, he does not attack much and just keeps on leaving balls so that can get irritating in the nets," he added.
Talking about stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah, the pacer from Hyderabad said: "As a player and as a captain, he has been the same. He is always supportive and is always there to help me out. Whenever I do wrong, he tries to make me understand what to bowl in certain situations."
The Hyderabad fast bowler took four wickets for 66 in the home side's first innings to emerge as India's most successful bowler.
