India vs Bangladesh, 1st Test: 'Happy with the way I batted,' says Cheteshwar Pujara

Cheteshwar Pujara on Wednesday said he was "happy" with the way he batted on Day 1 of the Chattogram Test against Bangladesh despite his dismissal on 90.

At stumps of the opening day, Pujara faced questions majorly about him missing out on a century and the flat batting track at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.

Pujara has not scored a Test century since January, 2019. A total of 51 innings have gone by since his 193 against Australia in Sydney.

Last year, in August, Pujara came close to a hundred in England when he scored 91 at Leeds and on Wednesday, he was dismissed by Taijul Islam on 90. However, the Saurashtra batter said his dismissal did not bother him much as his partnerships of 64 with Rishabh Pant (46 off 45) and Shreyas Iyer (82 Not Out) took India to 278 for 6 at stumps.

"It isn't an easy pitch to bat on. I am really happy with the way I batted. You want to talk about the three-figure mark, but the reason you play this sport is to put the team in a winning position. I think we will have a result (on this pitch). My partnership with Shreyas and Rishabh were very important.

"There nothing I could've done (with the dismissal), it was a good ball. Hope the hundred comes very soon," Pujara told reporters on Wednesday.

Pujara also opened up on the length about the uncertain nature of the pitch which forced spinners and pacers to keep changing their lengths to make things happen.

"There was also variable bounce. There was the odd ball keeping low. I hope we will make the most of it. The ball wasn't turning all the time. That makes things even more dangerous for batters because one odd delivery might turn and hit your pad. You can't bat for time on this pitch," Pujara said.

The debate around the Zing Bails once again broke out after Iyer escaped as he deemed not out by the umpires after Ebadot Hossain's delivery clipped the stumps, but didn't displace the bails. Pujara felt that both Iyer and India were fortunate with that incident.

"He was lucky (Smiles). When I saw it from the non-striker's end, I thought he was out. We were fortunate as a team, not just Shreyas, because his role tomorrow will be crucial," Pujara said.

India lost three quick wickets for 48 runs, with KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, and Virat Kohli getting out for 22, 20, and 1, before Pujara, Pant, and Iyer revived India's innings. The hosts then fought back with two wickets at the end of the day, including Mehidy Hasan Miraj dismissing Axar Patel with the final ball of the day.

Pujara felt that 350 will be a fighting total on the pitch, which doesn't allow batters to play for time.

"We have a decent total on our hands. But it would've been even better if we were four or five down. I feel 350 will be a decent total on this pitch, because there is enough turn on it. We have three spinners in our team," he said.