Pujara’s 3rd Consecutive Century: Cheteshwar Pujara, India’s Test ace, is amassing runs for Sussex in the current County Championship. He was apparently removed from the Test squad after a string of unsatisfactory performances. Pujara’s form was questioned after India dropped a three-match Test series against South Africa away from the home. For the series at home versus Sri Lanka, he was discarded along with another underperforming batsman, Ajinkya Rahane.
Pujara resumed domestic cricket in pursuit of form, scoring 2 half-centuries in five Ranji Trophy innings for Saurashtra. In addition, although the majority of Indian cricketers are focused on the Indian Premier League (IPL), he preferred to play in the County Championship after remaining unsold in the blockbuster auction.
Sussex acquired him for the competition, and Pujara has returned the County team’s confidence in him. He has 3 successive hundreds, including a double ton, the most recent being versus Durham on Friday (April 29) at the County Ground in Hove.
Cheteshwar Pujara walked out to play at number 5 on the 2nd day of the match, having Sussex trailing at 108/3, and maintained one end brilliantly, forging key partnerships. He initially scored 99 runs for the 4th wicket with Tom Alsop before taking Tom Clark with him to put Sussex ahead. If Sussex is to secure their opening match of the tournament, Pujara will be crucial. Up to this point, they have performed three games, two of which have resulted in losses, and one of which has resulted in a draw.
Returning to Pujara’s momentum, he struck 201 (undefeated) and 109 runs in the other two games have failed in the other innings. It is yet to be seen whether the Saurashtra player can maintain his form and hit another double century for Sussex. However, Indian spectators were overjoyed to see him reclaim his form heading of forthcoming India’s tour of England when the squad will play the final 5th Test in July. After reaching a ton of runs in County cricket, it remains to be seen whether Pujara would stage a return for that Test match.
Teams:
Durham (Playing XI): Alex Lees, Sean Dickson, Keegan Petersen, Scott Borthwick(c), David Bedingham, Ned Eckersley(w), Liam Trevaskis, Ben Raine, Matty Potts, Matt Salisbury, Chris Rushworth
Sussex (Playing XI): Alistair Orr, Tom Haines(c), Cheteshwar Pujara, Tom Alsop, Tom Clark, Mohammad Rizwan(w), Delray Rawlins, Mason Crane, Aaron Beard, George Burrows, Henry Crocombe
