Only if we could have a Rohit versus Ashwin clash in the semis! What a perfect fill-up it would be for the resurgence of the Ranji Trophy.
Summary of all Ranji Trophy matches played on Saturday
'He showed what Test cricket is all about.'< 'It is not about hitting the ball and looking fancy out in the middle, it is about showing grit.'
Cheteshwar Pujara made 49 and 43 in his two innings as Saurashtra lost to Haryana by four wickets.
Cheteshwar Pujara scored his second consecutive Test century as India recovered from a precarious position in the second Test against England in Mumbai on Friday. The 25-year-old, who scored a double century in the first Test, was unbeaten on 114 on a turning track at the Wankhede stadium as the hosts finished on a healthy 266 for 6 at close on an eventful opening day.
Known for his proficiency in Tests and a prolific scorer in first class cricket, Cheteshwar Pujara has set himself a task - of forcing people to take notice of his prowess in the T20 format too and play in the upcoming Indian Premier League season.
Wriddhiman Saha's career-best first-class knock of 203 was the stand-out performance as Rest of India lifted the Irani Cup after effortlessly chasing down a 379-run target set by Gujarat with more than two sessions to spare, in Mumbai, on Tuesday.
Ashwin is the only Indian to score a century and bag a five-wicket in a single Test. He has achieved this feat on three occasions.
Saurashtra's middle-order batter Sheldon Jackson followed in senior teammate Cheteshwar Pujara's footsteps, completing his century on day two of their Ranji Trophy Group A tie against Rajasthan to guide the defending champions to a 300-plus total in Jaipur on Saturday.
As Ravichandran Ashwin prepares to step onto the field for his 100th Test in the upcoming Dharamsala fixture on March 7, he is poised to join a prestigious group of 14 Indian cricketers
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.
'He is like a pillar and the whole team bats around him.' 'In today's world, everyone likes to play their strokes while Pujara is someone who will tire out the bowlers.' 'If you have one batsman who can play out the new ball or play out a spell from a good bowler, then it helps the whole team, it helps the other batsmen.'
Cheteshwar Pujara waged a lone battle with a fighting 86 but Rest of India's batting line-up floundered against Gujarat's bowling attack and were pushed against the ropes by the newly-crowned Ranji Trophy champions.
India will hope the return of regular captain Virat Kohli proves to be the difference for the hosts against New Zealand when the world's two top-ranked Test sides clash in the second and final match at the Wankhede Stadium from Friday.
'In the evening, he came to me, put a hand around me, and said: "Don't worry and don't be upset. The ball which did you in kept very low and even I might have got out playing it. Your chance will definitely come and I am sure you will excel."' Cheteshwar Pujara hails Sachin Tendulkar.
Ben Stokes and his team-mates have their task cut out as they look to emulate Alastair Cook-led England's historic India series win in 2012.
Roundup of Ranji Trophy matched played on Sunday
Maharashtra government has given the go-ahead to Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) to allow 100 per cent seating capacity for the upcoming India-New Zealand Test at the Wankhede Stadium, beginning December 3.
Former India captain and team director Ravi Shastri said Cheteshwar Pujara, who was not picked up by any of the teams for this year's Indian Premier League, deserves to be compensated handsomely as a reward for his consistent contributions to the Test team's success this home season.
Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara continued his good form with the bat as he and Robin Uthappa helped Saurashtra crush Punjab by eight wickets.
Keep an eye on these five players during the tournament.
Opener Mayank Agarwal hit a gritty hundred to rescue India after New Zealand left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel had put them in a spot of bother with three quick wickets on the weather-hit first day of the second and final Test, at the Wankhede stadium, in Mumbai, on Friday.
Vaibhav Rawal scored a fine century before pacer Divij Mehra's dismantled Mumbai with a five-wicket haul to power Delhi to an emphatic eight-wicket victory in the Ranji Trophy Group B match.
Mayank Agarwal played a captain's knock of 109, as his side took a 64-run lead on Day 2
Bhuvneshwar Kumar blew away Bengal top-order in an incredible five-wicket haul
Who do you feel is India's best bat for the No. 3 slot in the second Test against Sri Lanka, starting on Thursday, August 20.
Iyer smashed 530 runs at an average of 66.25 in 11 innings and a strike rate of over 113. He scored two centuries and three fifties, with the best score of 128*. He ended up as the seventh-highest run-scorer in his debut tournament.
Shivam Dube carried his rich recent form into domestic circuit cracking a rapid fifty but Shreyas Gopal's four-wicket haul ensured that Mumbai were bowled out for 251
India's star cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara, who is also Election Commission's Brand Ambassador in Gujarat, specially flew down from Abu Dhabi, where he has been part of the Kings XI Punjab in the ongoing Indian Premier League, to cast his vote in Rajkot on Wednesday.
Former captain and India A coach Rahul Dravid has defended out-of-form batsman Cheteswar Pujara, saying there was nothing wrong with his technique.
Cheteshwar Pujara's brilliant century (148) rescued Saurashtra, as the the Ranji Trophy Super League Group A match against Delhi ended in a tame draw in Delhi on Sunday. Delhi shares the top slot in Group A with Mumbai on eight points from two matches.
England's bowlers must have heaved a huge sigh of relief when they saw the back of Indian run machine Cheteshwar Pujara.
Cheteshwar Pujara missed out on a second successive double hundred but his 182 went a long way in Saurashtra piling up a mammoth 570 in their first innings against Gujarat on the second day of the Ranji Trophy.
Former captain Rahul Dravid believes a settled middle order can ensure Indian Test team's success abroad.
Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shubman Gill, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Burmah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Prasidh Krishna, Hanuma Vihari and K S Bharat boarded a flight to Heathrow airport in London early on Thursday morning.
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.
Harbhajan has expressed his massive displeasure with the "lack of respect" for the Saurashtra man and the fact that the yardstick to judge performances hasn't been same for every senior player.
South Zone pacers were brilliantly bellicose while reducing West Zone to 129 for 7
Dharmendrasinh Jadeja took 7/32 as Saurashtra thrashed Rajasthan by 218 runs.
The sub-narratives in the main story will be equally intriguing in the next 13 days.
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