Cheteshwar Pujara

At 36 years old, Cheteshwar Pujara has this physical status:

Cheteshwar Pujara (born 25 January 1988) is an Indian international cricketer who plays Test cricket for India's national team and represents Saurashtra in domestic cricket.

He made his first-class debut for Saurashtra in December 2005 and made his Test debut at Bangalore in October 2010.

According to the International Cricket Player Rankings, he was the 4th ranked Test batsman in the world in November, and he was the tour's highest scorer.

In October 2011, the BCCI gave him a D grade national contract.

After the retirement of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, he was one of the contenders for a spot in the Indian middle order, with a sound technique and the patience to play long innings.

In the 2012 NKP Salve Challenger Trophy, he scored his first double hundred against England in Ahmedabad, then followed it with another double hundred against Australia in March 2013.

He became one of the fastest batsman to reach 1000 runs in Test cricket in just 11 matches and his 18th Test Innings.

He was named Emerging Cricketer of the Year 2013 in February 2017 when he faced Bangladesh in a one-off Test match, he set a new record for a batsman in an Indian first-class season with 1,605 runs.

In 1964–65, Chandu Borde set a record of 1,604 runs.

He reached his twelfth double-century in first-class cricket in November 2017, the most by an Indian batsman, smashing the previous record set by Vijay Merchant.

Early life

Cheteshwar Pujara was born in Rajkot, Gujarat, on January 25, 1988, in a Hindu Lohana family. For Saurashtra, Arvind's father and uncle Bipin were Ranji Trophy players. Early in his life, his father and his mother, Reema Pujara, understood their talents, and Cheteshwar trained with his father. His mother died in 2005 when he was 17 years old due to cancer. Cheteshwar Pujara obtained his BBA from J.J Kundalia College.

Personal life

Pujara's uncle, Arvind Pujara, and Bipin Pujara's nephew, Bipin Pujara, both of whom competed for Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy, are Pujara.

When he was 17, his mother died as a result of cancer. Puja Pabari married Puja Pabari in Rajkot on February 13, 2013. The couple became parents of Aditi, a baby girl.

The Election Commission named him in February 2014 as the 'brand ambassador' for Gujarat'.

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Youth career

Pujara made his Under-19 Test debut against England in 2005. He scored 211 runs to help India win by an innings and 137 runs in the first round. After scoring three fifties in four innings of the Afro-Asia Under-19 Cup, he was also selected in the Indian squad for the 2006 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. He was the top run-scorer of the Under-19 World Cup, scoring 349 runs from 6 innings, including three fifties and a century at an average of 117. In the 2006 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, He was the Man of the Tournament.

He scored 97 runs against the West Indies in the quarterfinals before losing 129 runs against England in the semifinals, helping India win by a huge margin of 234 runs. In the final, however, he was disqualified for a duck against Pakistan, which India later lost.

Domestic career

At the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot, he scored 10 and 203 not out of a total of 221 balls against Madhya Pradesh, ensuring a 203-run win, advancing Saurashtra to the 2012-13 Ranji Trophy quarter-finals. He scored 37 and 352 in Rajkot's quarter-finals against Karnataka, dissenting spinner K. Gowtham in both innings) to ensure Saurashtra progressed to the semifinals. Despite being called to the India ODI squad after this success, he was not chosen in the first XI.

Pujara was the ninth batsman to score three straight triple-centuries in 2013 at the age of 25, only the ninth batsman to reach three consecutive first-class triple-centuries. His points were: 302* for Saurashtra against Orissa in 2008/09, 352 for Saurashtra against Karnataka in 2012/13, and 306* for India A against West Indies A in 2013/14. He also has a record of three triple centuries in a span of a month, but only the last of these was in a first-class match.

Pujara appeared with the Kolkata Knight Riders in the first three seasons of the IPL. He was purchased by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2011 players' auction (RCB). He played for RCB in his fourth season of the IPL before injuring his knee in a match against Kochi Tuskers Kerala. The injury kept him out of action for nearly a year before he returned to domestic cricket at the end of 2011.

Despite being bowled out for a meagre 225 in response to Bengal's 303 at Eden Gardens in November, he had a lone hand against Bengal at Eden Gardens in November. He scored a mammoth 269 runs in Chennai's next match against Tamil Nadu, a 353-run team, and posted a 581/6 rating in reaction to Tamil Nadu's 565.

Pujara's opening partner and was left out after the first six matches in which he made 125 runs at an average of 25 percent in 2014 IPL, with a strike rate of 100.80. He signed for Yorkshire after not being chosen by any franchise for the 2015 IPL season.

In the 2017-18 edition of the Ranji Trophy, Pujara was the top run-scoer for Saurashtra, scoring 437 runs in four matches. He was on the team for the quarter-finals against Uttar Pradesh, the highest ever in Ranji Trophy history, with 67 not out in the fourth innings. Pujara's team won by a few umpiring mistakes that had marred his way in the fourth innings, bringing his team to their third final in six years. He scored his first T20 century and became the first batsman for Saurashtra to score a century in a T20 match in the first round of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this season.

Pujara made his 50th century in first-class cricket in January 2020, in the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy.

Pujara was purchased by the Chennai Super Kings for 50 lakhs in the IPL auction in February 2021, ahead of the 2021 Indian Premier League. He did not have a chance to participate in any football, but did not have a chance to participate in any match.

Pujara and Tom Haines became the first batters to score double centuries in a first-class match in April 2022, while following-on.

In his first game as Sussex captain against Middlesex in the ongoing 2022 County Championship in England, Pujara scored a century in July 2022. This was his fifth century in this county season.

International career

Pujara was selected by the Indian squad for the 2 match home Test series against Australia in 2010, replacing Yuvraj Singh. On October 9, 2010, he made his debut in the second Test of the series after both Gautam Gambhir and VVS Laxman were down with injuries in the First Test.

Though Laxman was off the field for the first Test, Pujara took two catches as a substitute at a silly time. Pujara scored four runs in his first Test innings before losing LBW to Mitchell Johnson on the third ball he faced.

Pujara was sent in at number three in the second innings in place of Rahul Dravid's tactical switch by captain MS Dhoni. With India needing 207 runs to win, he made 72 runs before being bowled by an arm ball from Nathan Hauritz.

In August 2012, he made a comeback to the team and claimed his first International Test century, defeating New Zealand at Hyderabad.

He was selected in India's squad to play four test matches against England. Ahmedabad's first match at Sardar Patel Stadium saw him win the game and go 1–0 up in the series. He was also named man of the match for his inning. In the second match at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, he maintained his good form, clocking in another 100. He not only scored in the next two games, but also finished the series as the second highest run scorer behind England captain Alastair Cook with 438 runs.

During his double hundred against Australia in March 2013, he became India's second fastest Indian to reach 1,000 Test runs at Hyderabad, where he made his 370-run-away partnership with Murali Vijay. Only Vinod Kambli was faster.

Pujara is also the 12th fastest of all time. He took the honours from the legendary Sunil Gavaskar for the quickest Indian to reach the record in terms of the number of tests (11 matches). Pujara had a great test run against Australia, scoring 419 runs, only second to Murali Vijay's 430, in which he slammed a double ton's 204 and two half-centuries (52 and 82).

Pujara's opener, Virender Sehwag, was struggling out of form, but it gave him a chance to prove his skill in shorter Ranji trophy matches, when he was selected in the 15 member squad for the ODI series against England. He made his debut against Zimbabwe by scoring 9 runs on his first appearance after suffering from an injury.

On India's tour to South Africa in 2013, he finished as the best run-scoer in the Test series, scoring 280 runs at an average of 70.00.

Pujara was selected for the Indian squad for the 2014 Asia Cup, which was held in Bangladesh. Pujara lost 3-011 and 27 respectively against Bangladesh in June 2014.

Pujara was selected in the 16-man squad for England's 2014 tour. He had a disappointing run in five Tests with a best of 55 runs and a total of 222 runs. Despite getting off to a promising start, he struggled with his back foot control and playing with a straighter bat, and was also having trouble against the seaming ball. He was not a member of the ODI series that came after, and after being given permission from the BCCI, he signed for Derbyshire to play in the season's last three games. He ended the season with 212 runs, including an unbeaten 90 in the victory over Surrey and an unbeaten century against Leicestershire, despite a poor first game.

In August 2015, he returned to form in a three-match test series against Sri Lanka. In the third test against them, he scored 145 points not out. He also competed in the Border Gavaskar Trophy in 2014. He made 73 runs in the first inning before being bowled by a Nathan Lyon delivery.

Pujara continued to train on his game, but he was still waiting for a national comeback. He suffered the most as a result of an injury setback to Murali Vijay in Sri Lanka's 2015 series, enforcing the pickors of his mettle by taking his bat at an unbeaten 145 on an uncharacteristic seaming wicket at the SSC, Colombo, paving the way for a victory for India in the decider. Pujara has pushed the bar even higher since then, with hammering routine hundreds during India's long home season and the odd series in Sri Lanka and the West Indies. Pujara was dismissed for 6 and 31 in the first Test of Australia's 2016-17 tour of India, with India losing the match cheaply. He was instrumental in India's second innings of a crucial 92 in Bangalore, and he was a key part of the team's victory. Pujara's third double-hundred, off 525 balls, in the third Test, played in Ranchi, scored 202, his third double-hundred, in the first innings. It was the longest inning by an Indian batsman in terms of balls faced. For the seventh wicket, the 11-hour partnership featured a 199-run partnership with Wriddhiman Saha. The game ended in a draw and Pujara was named man of the match after a comeback by Australia in the second innings. Pujara became the first Indian to score 2,000 runs in an Indian single first-class cricket season thanks to the knock. Pujara finished second in the ICC Batsman Rankings after the game, ranking him at second place. He finished the year with 1,316 runs in Tests, the second most in a single season after Australia's Ricky Ponting (1,483). He also set the fastest runs scored in a first-class season for an Indian. He came in fourth in the Batsman Rankings for Tests at the end of the season.

In May, he signed for Nottinghamshire as a replacement to James Pattinson and started his career in Division Two of the County season. In his first game against Gloucestershire, he scored 112 runs and adding 185 runs for the fourth wicket. The run came to an end with 233 runs in a total of five innings. In the first Test of the tour of Sri Lanka at Galle in July, he was on his 12th Test century. Pujara scored 153 off 265 balls, assisting India in its biggest away Test victory. Striking a friendship with Shikhar Dhawan, who made 190, Pujara scored 153 off 265 balls, assisting in India's biggest away Test victory. In the second match, he scored his 50th Test, earning him another hundred, a first innings knock of 133. He went past 4,000 runs, becoming the second fastest Indian to reach that number of innings batted.

Pujara was dropped from the squad for the first Test of the 2018 England tour. In the second innings of the Third Test at Trent Bridge, he returned to action and made 72 runs. After losing a 203-run victory at Lord's and Birmingham, Virat Kohli's 97 and 103 led his team to a 203-run victory. Pujara scored his 15th Test century, but it was his second outside Asia since 2013. He made an unbeaten 132 out of 257 deliveries, while adding 78 runs for the final two wickets, helping his team win by a 27-run advantage over England's first innings total. India, on the other hand, went on to lose the game and the next, finishing 1–4 in the series. He finished the series with a 278 runs at 39.71. He made 96 runs in two innings while the West Indies toured India later this year.

Pujara's good form to Australia continued into Australia later this season and scored his maiden century in the region on the first day of a Test series outside of Asia, becoming only the seventh Indian to do so on the first day of a Test series outside of Asia. He saved his team from 41/4 by making 123 runs in a six-hour long innings before being run out for the fourth time in 2018, equaling Bill Lawry of Australia's 54-year-old record for the first times dismissed in such a manner in a year. Pujara reached 5,000 runs in Tests, becoming the fifth fastest Indian to reach the milestone in terms of innings batted (108). He continued it with a 71 in the second innings and helped India win the Test, their first in the country in ten years. Pujara was named man of the match. In the third Test in Melbourne, he scored a 319-ball 106 while adding 170 runs for the third wicket with Kohli in the first innings. India went to win the game and took the lead by a slim 2–1 advantage in the series. In another man-of-the-match triumph, he continued the tradition in the last Test at Sydney by making 193 out of 370 balls in the first innings. The match ended in a draw and a series of 2–1 in his team's favor meant their first Test series victory on Australian soil. Pujara completed the series with 521 runs, the most for either team or an India player from a total of 1,258 deliveries, a record for an India player, and an average of 74.42. He was selected player of the series.

In December 2020, he scored 271 runs in 4 matches at an average of 33.87, his next big series was the tour against Australia. His motives were scrutinized as he went for a strike rate of 29.20. Pujara's slowest Test half century ever on January 19, 2021, during his fourth Test match against Australia on The Gabba. He played his half century on the 196th ball he played, as well as a his old record of a 174 ball half century against Australia in 2020.

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