Ranji Trophy Final: After Illness, Cheteshwar Pujara Suffers Back Injury
Published - 12 Mar 2020, 12:01 AM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:04 AM
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India star Cheteshwar Pujara is set to miss the remainder of the Ranji Trophy final for Saurashtra against Bengal due to a back injury. The right-handed batsman had to retire hurt with a bout of illness on day one of the game. However, he had come out to bat on day two and helped Saurashtra recover from a middle-order collapse to post a big total in the first innings.
But Cheteshwar Pujara looks unlikely to bat in the second innings. Saurashtra will seek his batting services in the second innings only if they need it. He did not take the field on day three after pulling a back muscle during warm-up.
“Pujara pulled his back while warm-up. He then went to the hospital for a scan. He will only bat if required,” Saurashtra Cricket Association president Jaydev Shah told PTI.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Arpit Vasavada had batted together for five hours on day two to lay the foundation for a formidable total 425. Batting at number six, the India star scored 66 off 237 balls. Saurashtra, meanwhile, are in a good position in the game.
At the end of day three, Bengal were 134 for 3 in their first innings, trailing Saurashtra by 291 runs. Bengal started their innings on a shaky note as they lost their openers Sudip Kumar Gharami and Abhimanyu Easwaran for only 35 runs on the board.
Sudip Chatterjee and Manoj Tiwary then steadied the ship with a 89-run stand before the latter departed for 35. Chatterjee and Wriddhiman Saha then saw off the remaining overs to keep Bengal in a promising position.
