IMAGES from day 3 of the 1st Test between Bangladesh and India played in Chottogram on Friday.
Cheteshwar Pujara is set to play his 100th Test when the second Test gets underway on Friday, and ahead of the milestone match, Pujara opened up on his best knocks and preparations in a candid chat.
Senior India batter Cheteshwar Pujara, set to play his 100th Test in Delhi on Friday, is not concerned about the chatter regarding his age and how long he will continue to play. The 35-year-old says he hasn't set a retirement date and would like to take it one match at a time.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Umesh Yadav's places could come under the scanner before the team travels to West Indies for a two-Test series.
Out-of-favour India Test batter Cheteshwar Pujara's debut for Sussex has been delayed until next week due to visa issues and he will miss the side's first County Championship match of the season starting Thursday.
With more than a 100 runs still to get, it would be an uphill task for Maharashtra to turn the match around on Day 3.
'The way Jinx and Pujara batted, in second innings, that experience is obviously priceless for us'
He warned the players that failure to follow his game plans would result in them being dropped from the team.
Pujara could get the selectors' nod if Ajit Agarkar and his team decide to fall back on his experience.
Pacers Priyajit Jadeja and Arzan Nagwaswalla took seven wickets between them as Gujarat thrashed Saurashtra by an innings and 98 runs to enter the Ranji Trophy semifinals.
The last time Pujara featured in the lucrative T20 league was for Kings XI Punjab, now re-christened Punjab Kings, in 2014.
Becomes first batter to face most balls against Australia in the last decade.
All eyes will be on Captain Shubman Gill and Coach Gautam Gambhir to lead the Indian Test team into a bold new era.
Images from Day 4 in the second Test between England and India, at Lord's, on Sunday.
Cheteshwar Pujara said his stint for Surrey will hold him in good stead when India takes on England in the one-off Test in July.
'I am a hundred percent confident in how Virat will start this tour.'
After five failures in six completed knocks in South Africa, the two veteran batters surely seem to have played their last Test for India.
On Sunday, Sussex batted first on a small county ground at Hove, and were 9/2 inside first four overs when Tom Clark (104 off 106 balls) and Pujara joined forces to add 205 runs for the third wicket.
'Shane Warne is sick. He was an incredible cricketer but his lack of sensitivity & ignorance on a lot of occasions is baffling.'
Senior India opener Rohit Sharma was all praise for Cheteshwar Pujara after his unbeaten knock of 91 on Day 3 in the third Test against England on Friday.
Pujara's strike-rate has been a constant subject of debate for sometime now
Regular match practice, something Cheteshwar Pujara was not able to get due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is the reason for the India batter's consistent run in the English County Championship, reckons his father and coach Arvind Pujara.
Between 2014 and 2019, he scored 21 centuries in just 55 Tests. Among these were seven double centuries, the most by an Indian in Test cricket. Remarkably, six of those double tons came within a span of just 22 Tests.
'...whether he is a top player or not, it doesn't matter.' 'If I go by a player's name I won't be able to bowl at my best.' 'For me he is just a batter, and my only focus is where I need to land the ball.'
After several losses in the early years of the new century, a resurgent India notched up two consecutive series wins in Australia to become the Aussies' nemesis.
Ravi Shastri guided India to back-to-back series wins in Australia and his short advice to current head coach Gautam Gambhir is to "stay calm" over the course of five Tests Down Under and avoid knee-jerk reactions.
The legendary Sunil Gavaskar feels Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane repaid the trust that was shown in them, adding it is easy to get excited by young talents but the team should continue showing faith in its senior players.
Former India all-rounder Sanjay Bangar voiced his support for Kohli, expressing confidence in the batter's ability to make a strong comeback thanks to his fitness.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting was critical of Pujara's strike rate during the third Test in Sydney but the Test specialist was unmoved.
Former Australia spinner Brad Hogg feels young Prithvi Shaw is more suited for the number three spot in Test cricket and is the top candidate to step in place of Cheteshwar Pujara if India think of replacing the veteran India batsman in the five-Test series against England, starting next month.
Cheteshwar Pujara still feels the sting of last year's drubbing in New Zealand but the batsman says India will be a different proposition when the sides clash again at the neutral venue of Southampton in next month's World Test Championship final.
South Africa finished at 11 for one in nine overs bowled in second innings.
He did admit in a roundabout manner that he was putting too much pressure on himself earlier, which has changed since he scored 91 and 61 at Leeds and Oval at a decent clip.
A brisk start marked Turn 1 as the Indian attackers took charge of the proceedings. Three batches in the Nepal women were out by simple touches on 7 occasions, putting 14 points to India's kitty.
Middle-order batter Cheteshwar Pujara threw light on the fitness of skipper Virat Kohli, who missed the ongoing second Test against South Africa in Johannesburg due to back spasms, saying he is getting better.
Images from Day 3 of the third Test between England and India, at Headingley, Leeds, on Friday.
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
Cheteshwar Pujara has so far played 77 Tests, scoring 5840 runs with 18 hundreds.
'When I went out to bat, it was nearing the end of play. The West Indies players honoured me, and the crowd gave me a warm reception. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I had to stay focused.'
While Ajinkya Rahane has been named vice-captain, pacer Navdeep Saini was recalled into the Test squad.
