Veteran India batter Cheteshwar Pujara and his love affair with the English county club Sussex continues as the 35-year-old has smashed his first century in the ongoing Metro Bank One-Day Cup 2023 match against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.
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Most recently, during Duleep Trophy 2023, Pujara ended as the tournament’s highest-run getter for the West Zone. Across four innings, he scored 185 runs at an average of 46.25, with the help of a century against Central Zone during the second innings of first semi-final.
His knock comes after he has been dropped from India’s Test squad for the second time after an ordinary outing during ICC World Test Championship Final 2021-23 against Australia. It was only due to his brilliant run-of-form during County Championship Division Two 2022, when he smashed five centuries for Sussex, which earned him a place back in the Test side in July last year.
Even during the Royal London One-Day Cup last year, Pujara had emerged as the second-highest run getter in the tournament with 624 runs across nine innings at an average of 89.14.
Cheteshwar Pujara Scores Another List A Century For Sussex
Having lost to Durham a couple of days ago, it was Sussex Sharks’ second match of the tournament. Batting first, the visitors posted 240/7 in a rain-truncated 45-over contest. It was only on the back of a well-paced innings from Pujara (106 off 119), that the total went past the 200-run mark. In fact, no other batter even managed to hit a half-century during the innings.
Pujara’s innings comprised of four fours and a couple of sixes at a strike rate of 89.07. In fact, Pujara was in the mood to take his innings as deep as possible. Playing at a minimum possible risk, he struck only three fours during the initial 79 deliveries of his innings, post which he put his foot on the accelerator.
That said, the score did not prove to be enough as the Sharks registered their second consecutive defeat as the home team chased down the total eight balls to spare in Northampton.
As for Pujara, this was his 15th List A century today and fourth for Sussex since making his debut for the club last year.
Cheteshwar Pujara ODI Career
Having made his debut in the format against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in August 2013, the last of Pujara’s five-match ODI career come against Bangladesh in Mirpur over nine years ago. Unimpressive performances across five innings were enough for him to not find a place back again in the national team.
However, a glance at his List A career of 119 matches, and one would note the average column reading a than healthy 57.26. This has in it to be treated as a perfect case of lack of opportunities on part of the team management and the selectors, but a limited range of stroke play and the fact that India always had its core group of ODI batters during the 2010s meant that Pujara never stood a chance of a comeback. Despite that, after signing a deal with Yorkshire in 2015, the Saurashtra batter had expressed his desire to play across all formats for India.
“I definitely want to play all the formats of this game. I’m working on improving my game in ODIs and T20s. I am very confident that I will be able to do so. It’s a matter of time and there are some shots that I’m working on in the nets and with more and more practice I think I will be successful.”
Furthermore, not being a regular face in the Indian Premier League since its inception and with a host of players over the years earning a call-up in the national team on the basis of their performances in the cash-rich league in particular, has also limited Pujara to just Test cricket.
