ICC World Test Championship: 3 Most Memorable Knocks Of Cheteshwar Pujara

Cheteshwar Pujara has been India’s saviour in the ICC World Test Championship and despite having not scored a century, he has played a lot of valiant knocks that will be etched in the memory. Pujara finished with 818 runs in the tournament in the 17 tests he played at a mediocre average of 29.21.

He scored nine fifties in his century drought patch and the numbers don’t tell the actual story of how valuable he was to the side in getting to the finals of the tournament. He holds an important position in the test batting lineup at three and will be key to India’s success against New Zealand in the finals. Here are the 3 most memorable knocks of Cheteshwar Pujara in the ICC World Test Championship.

3 Most Memorable Knocks Of Cheteshwar Pujara:

3.Pujara’s 73 Against England, Chennai 2021

The first test of the four-match home series against England saw India losing the toss and England opted to bat first on the flat wicket. England posted a massive total of 578 in the first innings and India needed to get closer to the total to have any chance. India lost Rohit early and the onus was on Pujara to carry the Indian batting.

Pujara played a fine knock of 73 in 143 balls with 11 fours in the innings and helped India to a considerable total of 337 on the board. It was an important knock under the circumstances and it showed a lot of grit from him when the other batsmen around him struggled. England went on to win the test by 227 runs but India staged an excellent comeback to win the series 3-1.

2.Pujara’s 81 Against South Africa, 2019

This was the first test against South Africa and it was mainly remembered for the way Rohit Sharma played in the test scoring two centuries in the same test. However, Pujara had been out of form and a lot of criticism had run over his inclusion in the side. He responded in the best way by scoring a fluent knock of 81 in the second innings.

He hit 13 fours and two sixes in the innings and looked very positive throughout the knock. It came out to be his highest score in the ICC World Test Championship and he would have been very relieved to be contributing to a win as India outclassed South Africa in the game by 203 runs

1.Pujara’s 77 Against Australia, 2021

This test was the turning point for the young Indian test side in the Australian tour led by new captain Ajinkya Rahane. The series was level 1-1 and the third test was very crucial in determining the outcome of the series. Pujara scored two of his most important half-centuries in this match with a 50 run knock in the first innings and followed it with an outstanding 77 in the second innings.

Chasing a target of 407 on the last innings, India was struggling at 102 for three when Rishabh Pant and Pujara took over the reins. They played counterattack on the final day and Pujara hit 12 boundaries in the hard-fought knock and almost grinded out the day for India. Hanuma Vihari and R Ashwin’s resistance helped India to draw the game and India went on to win the fourth test to make history by winning two consecutive series in Australia.