Cheteshwar Pujara scores a century in the ‘First Class’ match against Jharkhand in the Ranji Trophy 2023-24.

Since India’s defeat to Australia in the 2023 World Test Championship final, seasoned Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara has not been included in the national lineup. But after a lackluster performance over the previous three or four years, his removal was impacted. A strong home campaign is crucial to his illustrious return to the international scene, and the Gujarati native appears to be headed in that direction.

Cheteshwar Pujara started the Ranji Trophy campaign well by smashing a fantastic hundred in the current match between Jharkhand and Saurashtra. On Day Two, in the evening session, the star batsman scored a century in the opening innings against players such as Anukul Roy and Shahbaz Nadeem. In addition, the professional cricket player and Arpit Vasavada, who scored a solid 68 off 171 balls, shared 146 runs during the innings.

Watch the video of Cheteshwar Pujara hitting 100 here:

That moment when @cheteshwar1 reached his 💯👏

It’s been a solid knock so far, laced with 12 fours 👌👌@IDFCFIRSTBank | #RanjiTrophy

Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/xYOBkksyYt pic.twitter.com/T2KjJGTRrL

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) January 6, 2024

In the current match, which is taking place at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot, Virat Singh’s team batted first. But even though they were behind by just 34 runs at the end of Day 1 with the scoreboard showing 108/1, the hosts managed to shut out Jharkhand for 142 runs. However, Harvik Desai (85) and Sheldon Jackson (54), as a pair, broke early on Day 2.

After Jackson was removed from the team, Cheteshwar Pujara took over and scored runs in the traditional manner, putting his 41-run partnership with Desai on hold. After that, Pujara assumed responsibility for most of the runs scored and caused problems for the opposing squad by remaining patient. After putting away the poor balls, the 35-year-old stitched an incredible amount on each run.

Even if the man values the hundred much, he undoubtedly wants to make this a significant achievement. Day 2 at Stumps sees Cheteshwar Pujara at the crease with Prerak Mankad (23*) at bat, both of them having a lead of over 250 runs. Saurashtra, who have already lost four wickets, will be greatly dependent on Cheteshwar Pujara assistance to extend the advantage and raise the score to an intimidating number.