Pujara defends timing of declaration, says team "didn't want" new ball to go soft on day 5

Senior batsman Cheteshwar Pujara on Saturday said that Indian team timed their second innings declaration in such a manner that they didn't have to start with a soft semi new-ball on the fifth day of their first Test against South Africa.

India batted 67 overs in their second innings to declare at 323 for 4, leaving South Africa with a near-impossible chase of 395 with an hour on fourth day and full fifth day for batting. South Africa finished at 11 for one in nine overs bowled in second innings.

Asked if the timing of declaration was right, Pujara said,"It was. We did not want to bowl too many overs because we wanted to keep the ball hard for start of day five. You don't want to end up bowling too many overs and once the ball gets soft, it gets slightly easier to bat."
"Once I knew that (pace of the pitch), I actually changed by point of impact little later on. Yes, earlier on it was bit difficult but once I realized that, I played a few shots and obviously with the same technique."
"Our partnership was crucial. Our communication was good as he we have batted together since our under-19 days."