Mayank Agarwal, vice-captain of South, Sarfaraz Khan and Prithvi Shaw have come to this match riding on heaps of runs that they have made in the previous Ranji season.
Star India batter Virat Kohli reached another landmark on day one of the first Test match against South Africa in Centurion on Tuesday to become the highest run-getter for India in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2019-2025.
"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.
'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'
Pujara grafted his way to three centuries in the ongoing Test series against Australia, playing a key role in India's dominance.
The right-hander currently has 873 points in the list of Test batsmen, headed by Australia captain Steve Smith.
Images from Day 2 of the second Test between India and Australia played in Hyderabad on Sunday.
Saurabh Kumar was virtually unplayable on a raging turner, returning with a match-haul of 10 wickets as Rest of India beat Saurashtra
On a day when the pitch played out easy barring the extra bounce and reverse swing extracted by the Aussie pacers, a determined Pujara held India's innings together.
England's bowlers must have heaved a huge sigh of relief when they saw the back of Indian run machine Cheteshwar Pujara.
Kevin Pietersen says the performance Indian batsmen, especially Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara, will be critical to the side's chances during its lengthy tour of England, come this summer.
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.
Sidelined by a ligament tear in his right knee, talented middle-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara is targeting the Australian tour later this year to make a comeback to the Indian squad.
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.
The right-hander feels that keeping India's relatively inexperienced pace attack, aside from Jasprit Bumrah, on the field for as long as possible could be the key for the hosts in the five-Test series beginning in Perth on Friday.
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.
Images from the third day's play of the first Test between South Africa and India at the New Wanderers stadium in Johannesburg on Friday.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane hit unbeaten centuries to power India to 344 for three against Sri Lanka on Day 1 of the second Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, on Thursday.
Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara said that his team's bowling performances in the first Test versus England was up to the mark and they should not be too disappointed with the 198-run world record stand for the last wicket between Joe Root and James Anderson in Nottingham.
Prolific Saurashtra middle-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, who slammed his career's second Ranji Trophy triple hundred, may have to wait a little more to make his ODI debut, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni indicated on Thursday.
Cheteshwar Pujara feels the two warm-up games that the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led team will play before the five-Test series against England will help the visitors adapt to the conditions.
Yuvraj Singh was left out of the Indian squad for the forthcoming Test series against Australia next month. His place in the team was taken by Saurashtra middle order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, who has been one of the most successful batsmen in domestic cricket in the last few years.
With Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane unbeaten at the end of the penultimate day of the WTC Final, will India pull off another stunning win?
His century in the Perth Test during the 2018-2019 series is rated by many as his finest, which Virat Kohli also acknowledges as his best in Australia.
Pujara, who had a base price of Rs 50 lakh went unsold at the IPL auctions in February.
Sunil Gavaskar slammed the Indian team management for fielding an unchanged eleven in the dead rubber against Afghanistan, wondering whether the "fear" of bench players succeeding over current favourites prompted it to play the same team.
According to Pujara, his nemesis Patrick Cummins bowled the 'ball of the series' about which he couldn't do anything.
Cheteshwar Pujara stayed in the top-10 list in the latest ICC Test Rankings issued on Sunday. Pujara dropped a rung to seventh but is still better off than his teammates as far as the rankings are concerned.
India 'A' skipper Cheteshwar Pujara (67) stood tall amid the ruins after his West Indies 'A' counterpart Veersammy Permaul wrecked the visiting line-up with a five-wicket haul on the second day of their second unofficial cricket Test in Kingstown on Sunday.
Cheteshwar Pujara is the first Indian batsman to post three hundreds in Tests in 2013 and is of the opinion that his side has enough runs on the board to press for a win on the final day in the first cricket Test against South Africa in Johannesburg.
Sachin Tendulkar turns 40 on Wednesday and the milestone means the sun will soon set on the batting maestro's illustrious career. Ahead of his big day, Tendulkar spoke to The Hindu about his satisfaction with Team India's youngsters, life after the retirement of teammates, dressing room banter and the evolution of batting.
A fit again Wriddhiman Saha was named in the Rest of India squad that will take on first-time Ranji Trophy champions in the Irani Cup to be held in Mumbai from January 20-24.
Murali Vijay (129 not out) and Cheteshwar Pujara (162 not out) hit unbeaten centuries to put India in complete control on the second day.
Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara hit centuries as India reached 311 for one at stumps on the second day against Australia in Hyderabad, on Sunday.
India need not lose sleep over Virat Kohli's absence in the last three Tests against Australia but Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara will have to shoulder extra responsibilities, batting great Sunil Gavaskar said.
Cheteshwar Pujara is confident that history will repeat itself in Australia this time.
Under pressure to retain his place in the Test XI, Cheteshwar Pujara overshadowed Rohit Sharma by scoring a solid hundred as India Blue made full use of a placid track to amass 362/3 against India Red on the first day of the Duleep Trophy final in Greater Noida.
While Cheteshwar Pujara scored 4, 12 not out and 9 in the three innings he batted on the ongoing England tour, Ajinkya Rahane managed just 5 and 1 in the two innings he played.
Swann said he benefitted from legendary Shane Warne's advice on how to play on spin-friendly Indian wickets.
As the nation celebrates its 76th Republic Day, India's sports fraternity took to social media to share their patriotic sentiments and wishes with fans across the country on Sunday.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances