Sydney: In a world full of hard-hitting batsmen like Virat Kohli, David Warner and Quinton de Kock, someone like Cheteshwar Pujara -- a proper Test specialist, is a monk. One can keep chirping in his ears or bowl at a variety of lines at some brutal pace all day long, but Pujara will continue to meditate at this favourite spot -- the 22 yards in the middle of a ground fill with 'oohs' and 'aahs' of the mad cricket fans.

The last time when Pujara was in Australia, he piled up 521 runs using 1,258 balls in 30 hours. Australia bowlers are left white faced on even the thought of bowling to him ever since then. Pujara's name was on every Australia player's mouth in the build up to this massive 4-match Test series. In fact, the documentary 'The Test: A New Era for Australia's Team', had a separate montage to honour India's prolific number three. On Day 1 of the first Test of the 4-match series between Indian and Australia, Pujara frustarted Australia players, their former players and fans in his 218 minutes stay on the crease. During the duration Pujara stood rock solid and played 160 balls en route his 43. Nathan Lyon provided hosts the reprieve but by then some Aussie fans had already taken the opportunity to ridicule one of Test cricket's finest. But purists like Pujara are anyways not worshipped in this fast-paced and ultra modern world.

Notably, Pujara has now faced 3,609 deliveries in 28 innings against Australia in the past decade so far, overtaking England captain Joe Root, former England opener Alastair Cook and his skipper Virat Kohli. While Root has faced 3,607 balls (28 innings) against Australia in the past decade, Cook played 3,274 deliveries (40 innings) and Virat Kohli 3,115 balls (35 innings). “They just can’t get him out,” Mark Waugh, the former Australian opener exclaimed while commentating for Fox Cricket.