Cheteshwar Pujara hits 62nd FC hundred ahead of India squad selection for last 3 England Tests

Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara continued his brilliant form in the ongoing Ranji Trophy and smashed his 62nd hundred in first-class cricket. While playing for Saurashtra against Rajasthan, the Jaydev Unadkat-led side finished Day 1 of the match 242/4 in which Pujara played an innings of 110 runs from 230 balls. Pujara hit a total of nine fours during his stay at the crease and batted with a strike rate of 47.83.

Cheteshwar Pujara is currently the second-highest run-scorer in the Ranji Trophy 2023-24 and has scored 622 runs from nine games at an average of 88.85. Pujara also smashed a double hundred against Jharkhand in January which was the 17th overall of his first-class career. Pujara has scored over 20000 runs in first-class cricket and is known to be one of the legends of Indian cricket.

Also Read: “Our management and captain said…” – Mohammad Rizwan on breaking his opening pair with Babar Azam in T20Is

Cheteshwar Pujara continues his stellar performance in Ranji Trophy

However, Cheteshwar Pujara was excluded from the Indian cricket team due to his drop in form in Test cricket. Pujara was not able to score runs and was also not able to convert his starts into big scores. Pujara played his last Test match in the World Test Championship final against Australia in June 2023. However, Pujara was not included in India’s Test squad for the tour of West Indies and also in the five-match Test series against England.

Cheteshwar Pujara has now once again knocked on the door of the Indian cricket team selectors with his stellar performance and once again has proved why he’s known to be the new ‘wall’ of the Indian team.

The Indian team is currently struggling with the batting order in the ongoing Test series against England. India have not been able to perform with the same batting potential they used to do before and is getting bowled out for low scores. Also, with the absence of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, the Indian batting lineup has become a bit inexperienced and players such as skipper Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer have not been able to perform as per the need of the Indian team.

Also Read: David Warner names Australia’s next long-term prospect who can replace him in ODIs

Now, when India’s squad for the rest three matches against England is yet to be announced. Cheteshwar Pujara’s performance in domestic cricket might become a reason for his comeback into the Indian side. Pujara will give stability to the Indian batting order and also will play down many overs of the English bowling attack.

The third Test match of the series will be played from February 15, 2024, at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot. The series is currently leveled at 1-1 after India registered a remarkable 106-run in Visakhapatnam. India would want to continue their winning momentum and take a lead in the series.

On the other hand, England have competed really well under the leadership of Ben Stokes in the first two Test matches. From the batting department to the bowling, the visitors have given tough competition to the Indian side and have also shut the critics, who were hoping for another flop performance from the three lions in India.

The series is very important from the perspective of the World Test Championship.

Also Read: South Africa squad for one-off women’s Test against Australia announced; 6 uncapped players included