Cheteshwar Pujara warmed up in style for the upcoming two-Test series against West Indies with a fluent century in the warm-up match against West Indies Cricket Board President XI.
Pujara stood tall in a defiant 47 off 102 balls even as Sri Lanka pacers made full use of the overcast conditions to run through the Indian batting line-up.
'I knew that I had to stay patient and wait for the loose balls but the way they bowled, they bowled in the right areas'
Cheteshwar Pujara is set to play his 100th Test match when India take on Australia for the 2nd Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy
India's Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara has raised a concerns like "picking the googly", "spotting the seam" while batting against the pink ball under lights during the Duleep Trophy game between India Blue and India Green.
Cheteshwar Pujara, a vital cog in India's batting wheel, on Tuesday, stressed on the importance of leaving the ball on the bouncy pitches of South Africa during the three-Test series beginning, in Cape Town, on Friday.
Pujara, on his part, thanked all the front-line warriors including doctors, para medical staff, and police, who are doing selfless service at this critical juncture.
Pujara has been criticised for his ultra-defensive approach in the series so far and instead of propping up his team's response to Australia's first innings total
India's Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara on Thursday admitted that playing day-night Tests is an altogether different challenge for the batsman as the pace and visibility of the pink ball is very different from the traditional red ball.
For someone who smashed 1000 first-class runs in a month's domestic cricket in the 2017-18 season, it shouldn't come as a surprise that a heavy duty scorer like Mayank Agarwal knows a thing or two about the art of conversion, believes Cheteshwar Pujara.
Brushing aside the criticism for not scoring quickly enough, Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara said positive intent and not strike rate is what all that matters in Test cricket.
India's Cheteshwar Pujara slipped a rung to seventh in the batting list but R Ashwin remained steady at fifth in the bowling chart of the latest ICC Test rankings issued on Thursday.
Cheteshwar Pujara registered his maiden double hundred as India declared their first innings on 521 for 8 on Day 2 of the first Test against England, at Motera, on Friday. The 24-yar-old Rajkot-born batsman was unbeaten on 206, having batted for a marathon eight hours. Rajneesh Gupta lists the batsmen who have the most runs in their first Test against England.
'This is an experienced side and we know what is expected of our team.' 'When it comes to preparation, all of us are ready.'
Pujara's slowest Test half-century, a painstaking 50 off 176 balls handed Australia control of the match in which they now have overall lead of 197 runs.
"During the county stint, I got to spend time with English players Stuart Broad and Samit Patel (who both play for Nottinghamshire) and former England coach Peter Moores.
Pujara has so far scored 521 runs in seven innings with three hundreds at an impressive average of 74.42.
Controversial keeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha, who has been dropped from the Test team, will still earn Rs 1 crore in annual income after being demoted from group B to C.
'I think if you asked us at the start of the day if we'd take losing the toss and India being 9 for 250 at stumps, I think we'd bite your arm off'
The third day of the first Test ended with India scoring 14 runs for the loss of one wicket taking the lead to 63 runs.
Gill, Rahul, Pant and the irrepressible Yashasvi Jaiswal will now have a chance to script the next glorious chapter in Indian cricket.
Former players Irfan Pathan and Parthiv Patel believe pace bowler Mohammed Shami will the hold the key for India with the ball in the upcoming ICC World Test Championship against New Zealand.
A US-based sports website has placed India's prolific batsman Cheteshwar Pujara in its latest list of potentially good top ten investment options in sports, putting the Saurashtra player alongside the likes of Brazilian soccer star Neymar and Formula One ace Sebastian Vettel.
Cheteshwar Pujara stood tall amid ruins as Sri Lanka struck twice in the truncated morning session to reduce India to 74 for five before rain forced play to be called off early on day two of the opening Test on Friday.
After helping Saurashtra win their maiden Ranji Trophy title last month, little did he know that he would be spending all his time at home. Pujara is enjoying the 'forced' break and most of his time goes into entertaining his two-year-old daughter.
Pujara grafted his way to three centuries in the ongoing Test series against Australia, playing a key role in India's dominance.
Poor batting was at the heart of the debacle.
Known for his sound technique and insatiable appetite for runs, Cheteshwar Pujara believes he has what it takes to succeed Rahul Dravid at the crucial number three position in India's Test side and says comparison with his childhood idol acts as a "morale-booster".
India batsman Cheteshwar Pujara says runs in Duleep Trophy have given him a much-needed confidence boost ahead of the Test series against New Zealand starting on Thursday in Kanpur.
'Under lights, with the late swing, it is challenging for batsmen'
'It's the communication, both of us have been playing Test cricket for a long time. Especially me and him -- we are playing (only) this format particularly and we have spent a lot time not just on field by talking about this format' 'To be very honest I was hoping to get a double hundred. They had so many runs on board. I thought it will help the team if I could get a double hundred'
Ignored by all eight franchsies during the auctions for the eighth season of IPL, India's Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara will make use of that time by representing Yorkshire in the upcoming English county season.
Young prodigy Yashasvi Jaiswal is considered the frontrunner to make his Test debut in the West Indies, but there are other options in Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shubman Gill.
It is now-or-never for the now senior-most superstar batter to produce an all-timer series that justifies his talent.
If India goes on to win the inaugural ICC World Test Championship title, it could prove to be the watershed moment for the revival of the longest format just like the 2007 World T20 triumph did for the popularity of the shortest format, said Cheteshwar Pujara.
Looking to cement his place in India's One-day cricket team, batsman Cheteshwar Pujara said he would like to open the innings in the limited-overs' format.
Mumbai held a slight edge reducing Madhya Pradesh to 197 for five in their Ranji Trophy cricket semi-final after being bowled out for 371 in their first innings, in Cuttack, on Sunday.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Umesh Yadav's places could come under the scanner before the team travels to West Indies for a two-Test series.
Considering the Test format as the ultimate challenge for any cricketer, Cheteshwar Pujara, on Friday, said if he had to get an opportunity, he would still like to play the longest format.
'I know he is on record saying that the Test match game is probably a little bit hard on his body. But for a one-off game... he's been bowling every game through this IPL and he's bowling quick.'
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances