His next big series was the tour against Australia in December 2020 in which he scored 271 runs in 4 matches at an average of 33.87. As he played at a strike-rate of 29.20, his intent was under heavy scrutiny. On 19 January 2021, during the fourth Test match against Australia on The Gabba, Pujara scored his slowest Test half century ever. He reached his half century on the 196th ball that he faced, and passed his old record of a 174 ball half century against Australia in 2020.