Cheteshwar Pujara continues dream form in Ranji Trophy after Test snub, scores 91 despite injury

Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara continued to shine with the bat in the ongoing edition of the Ranji Trophy. Pujara played an innings of 91 runs against Services while playing for Saurashtra and helped the team achieve a first-innings total of 462 runs. Pujara fell short with nine runs off a hundred, which would have been his 62nd hundred in first-class cricket.

Cheteshwar Pujara also became the second Saurashtra batsman to hit 7000 runs in the Ranji Trophy. It was a hard day with the ball for Saurashtra against Services as while bowling first they conceded 536/7. Services batsman Shubham Rohilla played an innings of 153 runs whereas, Lovekesh Bansal and Arjun Sharma ended up playing innings of 161 and 101* runs respectively. In the end, Services declared their innings, but with the combined efforts of Pujara, Vishvaraj Jadeja, and Ankit Vasavada, Saurashtra were able to draw the match.

While coming into bat after being retired hurt due to a back injury, Cheteshwar Pujara showed great dedication throughout his innings. Pujara played some brilliant shots during his stay at the crease against Services and also showcased his will to play quality bowling.

Cheteshwar Pujara scripts records in Ranji Trophy

Cheteshwar Pujara also completed 20000 runs in his first-class career in the present edition of the Ranji Trophy. He joined great Indian batsmen such as Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Sunil Gavaskar. Pujara also slammed his 17th double century of his first-class career earlier this month against Jharkhand. With 535 runs scored in just three innings, Cheteshwar Pujara is currently the second-highest run scorer in the tournament.

Cheteshwar Pujara has been out of the Indian cricket team since the World Test Championship final in 2023 against Australia. India faced a loss in the final and since then Pujara has not featured in Tests for Team India. Pujara has been one of the best batsmen for the Indian cricket team in the red ball format.

Cheteshwar Pujara was known to be the ‘new wall’ of the Indian cricket team after Rahul Dravid played at the crease with immense determination and concentration. Pujara used to exhaust the opposition bowlers by defending the balls, and there have been many matches when Pujara has played the whole day without any problem.

Such innings came during the 2021 Border-Gavaskar Trophy when India were playing the series without many big names. Pujara played many decent knocks during the whole series and his determination with the bat ensured that India did not lose any wickets with the bat.

While the Indian team lost against England in the first Test in Hyderabad by 28 runs despite leading by 189 runs in the first innings. Indian batsmen such as Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer flopped with the bat. Their flop show has once again opened up the debate to bring back Pujara in the Test side. With KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja also missing the second Test, Cheteshwar Pujara shall be getting a chance in the squad but he was not included in the side by the Indian team selectors.