Cheteshwar Pujara says he will do better during India's tour of Australia

As the Indian team gets set for a lengthy tour of Australia, number three batsman, Cheteshwar Pujara, is banking on the experience gained during his recent county stint with Derbyshire, as he seeks to set things right after enduring an abysmal time during the tour of England in July-August, 2014.

Rated as India's best technically equipped batsman since Rahul Dravid, Pujara's performance in England was a massive let-down by his own high standards. He finished the 5-Test series with just 222 runs, at a shockingly poor average of 22.20.

Having emerged as one of India's main batting mainstays, Pujara will need to tackle Mitchell Johnson & Co. more efficiently if India are to emerge with credit during the Australia Tests. In an interview with starsports.com, the Saurashtra batsman said he was feeling confident about his batting and was looking forward to the challenge of playing on the hard and bouncy Australian pitches.

"The experience of having played Test cricket over the last one year in places like South Africa, New Zealand and England is definitely an advantage while preparing for a tough tour like Australia. As a player, these conditions present a different challenge. Over a period of time when you play in different countries, it allows one to work out the deficiencies that may have developed in your technique," Pujara said.

India will have to quickly acclimatize to the local conditions and have lined up a couple of two-day practise matches before the first Test at the Gabba, Brisbane. Pujara felt travelling to Australia early should help the team get used to the conditions. "We are reaching Australia a couple of weeks before the first Test. That should help us adjust to the conditions better," he noted.

Pujara made his debut against Australia in Bangalore and made a match-winning 72 in India's second innings. He said he was confident about his abilities and wasn't too fussed about changing his batting technique. "I don't want to single out any one aspect of my batting. Overall my technique is my asset. That's what I want to stick to. I have played some cricket before in Australia with the India A squad and am not completely unfamiliar with the conditions. The county experience towards the end of the English season was also beneficial," Pujara noted.

The Indian batsmen will be up against the menacing pace of Mitchell Johnson but Pujara was unfazed at the prospect of facing Johnson's 150+ kmph thunderbolts. "I want to keep things simple and concentrate on what I need to do to score runs rather than think about the opposition's bowlers. Overall as a batsman, I need to be sure of which areas I can score runs and which deliveries I need to leave alone. That is going to be my focus instead of the bowler I am facing," he said.

Pujara was repeatedly troubled by in-swinging deliveries during the recent tour of England. He admitted to be troubled by his repeated dismissals but said he had worked extensively to iron out the deficiency in his batting. "I have worked on my overall game after the England tour. I don't look at the ball coming in as a big problem. When you play a lot of matches, you are bound to get out to certain deliveries. Obviously, when one type of dismissal is happening frequently, you learn from your mistakes and try to overcome the issue. As long as you try to correct that mistake by putting in those additional hours and efforts in the nets, no problem is too big to overcome," he sounded confidently.

Pujara had a dream start to his Test career and the below par performance on the tour of England came as a shock to people who followed his career. He said the failure in England has motivated him to work further on his game. "When you don't achieve what you have set out to do, it is a very tough thing to accept. Having said that, the best thing during such times is to accept the failures and work on improving ones game. When you are scoring runs, you tend to overlook some of the minor problems that may have started to creep into your batting. You don't try and learn things about your technique.

"However, when you fail, you start thinking a lot more about your game. You get to know that these are the things that aren't working in your favour and need to be corrected. Failure has taught me a lot of things and I am hoping it helps me become a better cricketer," Pujara added.

Pujara talked about the importance of having conversations with past players and said he had spoken to Rahul Dravid about conditions in Australia. "I have spoken to Rahul Dravid about the conditions in Australia. Someone of his calibre and experience will always point out those minor issues, which otherwise may get missed. His approach towards the game is exemplary," he said.

Before the England tour, India had last featured in a 5-Test series against West Indies in 2002. After a strong start to the tour, India squandered the advantage, losing the final three Tests. Skipper MS Dhoni had hinted that the inexperience of playing long series had a big impact in his team losing steam mid-way. When asked for his reaction, Pujara concurred with Dhoni's views but also said his team was now more prepared to encounter such situations.

"Playing a five-match Test series is not easy whether at home or abroad. Nowadays, with the amount of limited-overs cricket being played, it wasn't easy for the team to adjust to the rigours of a five-match Test series against England after more than 10 years. The most important thing for a cricketer to succeed is mental toughness. That is one thing we learnt from the England Test series that during a long series, you have to be mentally tough at all times and not afford to slack even for a second. This was the first time we played such a long series. We have learnt our lessons. Having gone through that experience, we are now better prepared to play a long series," the Indian star batsman said.

Despite being an automatic selection in the five-day format of the game, Pujara hasn't been able to nail a permanent place in the ODI team. Considered as a Test specialist by the selectors, Pujara hoped for more opportunities to prove himself in the shorter format of the game as well. "I know I will get my opportunities soon. Though I have had limited chances so far (five ODIs in four years) to prove my abilities, I am confident of earning my place soon. I have been continuously working to improve my game in the limited overs format. My strike rate is getting better after every outing. hope that my hard work and passion will help me break into the ODI side on a permanent basis soon," he signed off.