Indian cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara clinched his second test hundred for Sussex in the ongoing County Championship Division Two 2023 at Bristol in England on Saturday.
On the third day of the test match between Sussex and Gloucestershire, Pujara scored 151 in 238 balls, comprising 20 fours and two sixes in the first innings.
Till he was in the crease, Sussex had reached 408 runs losing four wickets. Tom Alsop (67) and James Coles (74) also played a helping hand from the other side.
Earlier Pujara had scored Pujara scored 115 off 163 balls against Durham in the first innings. His knock consisted of 13 fours and a six. This is his seventh century in county cricket. He has been able to convert all his fifty-plus scores into centuries.
His knock helped his side reach a total of 335 runs in reply to the first-inning total of 376 runs posted by Durham. Sussex won the match by two wickets eventually.
Pujara was in fine form for Sussex last year as well. In eight matches last year in the Championship, he scored 1,094 runs at an average of 109.40. He scored five half-centuries last year, with the best score of 231.
He was the fourth-highest run-scorer in the division behind Wayne Madsen (1,273 for Derbyshire), Haseeb Hameed (1,235 for Nottinghamshire) and Sam Northeast (1,189 for Glamorgan).
Pujara also performed really well in the One-Day Cup last year. In nine matches, he scored 624 runs at an average of 89.14 and a strike rate of 111.62. He scored three centuries and two half-centuries and the best score of 174. He led his side to the semi-final of the tournament as a skipper.
The middle-order batter’s century is an encouraging sign for India, which is preparing for the ICC World Test Championship 2021-23 final against Australia, which will take place from June 7 at The Oval in London.
Pujara displayed fine form for India last year, scoring 409 runs in five Tests and 10 innings at an average of 45.44. He scored a century and three half-centuries last year, with the best score of 102*.
However this year, his statistics have been ordinary so far. In four Tests and six innings this year, he has scored 140 runs at an average of 28.00. Only one half-century has come out of his bat, with his best score being 59.
Since 2022 County Championship, Pujara has played 18 innings in the tournament, scoring 1426 runs with an average of 95.07 consisting of seven hundreds, out of which three are double centuries. (ANI)
