India batter Cheteshwar Pujara is a sleep away from becoming the 74th cricketer to play 100 Test matches in the history of the sport. Pujara, who will follow David Warner in this eminent club, will become the 13th Indian cricketer to be able to play this landmark match in Test career.
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It was less than a year ago when former India captain Virat Kohli had played his 100th Test match against Sri Lanka in Mohali. Pujara, meanwhile, will be playing his 100th Test in national capital Delhi during the second India-Australia Test beginning tomorrow.
Eighth Indian cricketer to be playing his 100th Test at home, Pujara will be the third one to do so against Australia and first to do it at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Needless to say, the 35-year old player will be honoured along with his family for achieving this milestone in the 13th year of his international career.
It was an honour to meet our Hon. Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji. I will cherish the interaction and encouragement ahead of my 100th Test. Thank you @PMOIndia pic.twitter.com/x3h7dq07E9
— Cheteshwar Pujara (@cheteshwar1) February 14, 2023
Currently the eighth-highest run-scorer in Test cricket among Indian cricketers, the right-handed batter won’t get a better occasion to score a 20th Test century. It was during the tour of Bangladesh when Pujara had brought an end to a century-drought after scoring a 19th Test century a couple of months ago.
Indian players with 100 Test matches full list
| S. No. | Player | Year | Tests |
| 1 | Sunil Gavaskar | 1984 | 125 |
| 2 | Dilip Vengsarkar | 1988 | 116 |
| 3 | Kapil Dev | 1989 | 131 |
| 4 | Sachin Tendulkar | 2002 | 200 |
| 5 | Anil Kumble | 2005 | 132 |
| 6 | Rahul Dravid | 2006 | 164 |
| 7 | Sourav Ganguly | 2007 | 113 |
| 8 | VVS Laxman | 2008 | 134 |
| 9 | Virender Sehwag | 2012 | 104 |
| 10 | Harbhajan Singh | 2013 | 103 |
| 11 | Ishant Sharma | 2021 | 105 |
| 12 | Virat Kohli | 2022 | 105 |
| 13 | Cheteshwar Pujara | 2023 | 100 |
The other Indian cricketers to have played their 100th Test at home are Dilip Vengsarkar (against New Zealand in Bombay), Anil Kumble (against Sri Lanka in Ahmedabad), Rahul Dravid (against England in Mumbai), VVS Laxman (against Australia in Nagpur), Virender Sehwag (against England in Mumbai), Harbhajan Singh (against Australia in Chennai) and Ishant Sharma (against England in Ahmedabad).
Dravid, who is the current head coach of the Indian cricket team, was wax lyrical about Pujara qualifying to play his 100th Test match. “To play 100 Tests is a great achievement for any cricketer,” Dravid had told the reporters on Wednesday.
“Yes, you need talent but you need lot of other things. It’s about longevity. Your fitness, your resilience, ability to handle success and failure. Everyone sees ups and downs in this long journey. You need to face and overcome these.”
