When Saurashtra and Jharkhand are playing for the Ranji Trophy 2024, veteran Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara has been playing at the peak of his abilities. After entering the bat in the opening session, Pujara demolished the opposition with a superb century and added a double century, his 17th in first-class cricket.
Cheteshwar Pujara reached 200 in the opening session of Day 3 of the match after batting overnight with a score of 157 runs. Saurashtra declared a total of 578 runs in the first inning with the loss of four wickets after first putting Jharkhand out for just 142 runs.
With a total of 243 runs in 356 deliveries, Cheteshwar Pujara continued to be undefeated.
With the double ton, Cheteshwar Pujara moved to third place overall behind Patsy Hendren (22) and Wally Hammond (36) and level with Herbert Sutcliffe and Mark Ramprakash on 17 first-class doubles.
With a 407-run deficit, Jharkhand will attempt to play effectively, cut down on the lead, and maybe take the lead as well.
𝗗𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗲𝘀𝗵𝘄𝗮𝗿 𝗣𝘂𝗷𝗮𝗿𝗮! 💯💯
A spectacular 2⃣0⃣0⃣ in Rajkot from the Saurashtra batter! 👏👏
Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/xYOBkksyYt#RanjiTrophy | #SAUvJHA | @IDFCFIRSTBank | @saucricket | @cheteshwar1 pic.twitter.com/ofLZSf2qcl
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) January 7, 2024
Hopes for India’s comeback are raised by Pujara’s double ton
With his outstanding double century in the current Ranji Trophy, Cheteshwar Pujara may have a better chance of rejoining the Indian Test team in the future. In June 2023, Pujara’s final Test match for India was the World Test Championship final against Australia, when he was unable to play to the best of his skills.
Since then, the Indian team has played four Test matches—two against South Africa and two against the West Indies. Despite not being chosen for any of those Test matches, Cheteshwar Pujara participated actively in domestic competitions, representing his state in the Irani Trophy and Sussex in the county. The Board of Control for Cricket in India, or BCCI, will be looking to Cheteshwar Pujara in particular following his heroics for Saurashtra. Notably, Team India is scheduled to play England in a five-game Test series beginning in Hyderabad on January 25.
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