Saurashtra batsman Cheteshwar Pujara was on Friday named the captain of the India 'A' team that will tour the West Indies in June for three four-day matches, three One-dayers and two Twenty20s.
India internationals Shardul Thakur and Shivam Dube starred with the ball and the bat respectively as 41-time champions Mumbai took an upperhand over Assam on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Group B match in Mumbai on Friday.
Cheteshwar Pujara made 49 and 43 in his two innings as Saurashtra lost to Haryana by four wickets.
Pujara overcame ball sighting problems and hit a crisp 166 before state-mate Sheldon Jackson sent the India Green bowlers on a leather-hunt with Blue team piling up a mammoth 707 in a virtual 'semi-final' of the Duleep Trophy, in Greater Noida on Monday.
Opener K L Rahul missed out on a hundred while captain Cheteshwar Pujara struck a solid fifty to steer India 'A' to 221 for six on a rain-affected first day of the first 'unofficial' Test against Australia 'A', in Chennai, on Wednesday.
Gill said his team has learnt plenty from the disappointing defeat against the Kiwis.
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.
Cheteshwar Pujara became the first Indian batsman to post a double hundred in Tests at Hyderabad. He enjoys an impressive record at the venue, averaging 181.50, his runs' tally being 363 in two innings.
Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara batted with restraint in the first session. They also ensured that they kept their wickets in tact. This allowed them to get set at the crease and then go after the Aussie bowling and accelerate the innings. This is where India got it right on Day 2.
'If we keep bowling like this, we will win as many as Tests as possible.'
The Meteorological (MeT) department of the UK has predicted a 30 per cent chance of precipitation during the afternoon,
'They perhaps hoped to get an early wicket, but once they didn't get that, they went into a shell.'
Skipper Cheteshwar Pujara hit a scintillating 140 as India 'A' posted 281 for three against South Africa 'A' at stumps on the opening day of the first unofficial Test in Rustenberg.
Shubman Gill's first coach and father, Lakhwinder, says his son stepping out to the bowlers again has allowed him to get back among the runs.
Relieved after notching up his first hundred in close to two years, Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara thanked A team coach Rahul Dravid for reassuring him that there was "nothing wrong" with his technique during the prolonged lean patch.
Cheteshwar Pujara is gearing up for new challenge. The 25-year-old is a huge success on the Indian pitches and therefore this Saurashtra lad is looking ahead to the senior team's possible tour of South Africa followed by the confirmed visit to New Zealand.
India's middle-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin have achieved their career-best rankings in batting and bowling, respectively in the latest ICC Test Player Rankings released on Tuesday.
Images from Day One of the opening Test between India and New Zealand at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium in Uppal on Thursday.
Being dubbed as a 'Test specialist' at times can be a bane rather than a boon and no one understands it better than Cheteshwar Pujara, who feels that the perception of people would change soon.
Out-of-favour following a string of poor scores, top-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara is keen to stage a comeback into the Indian Test squad. He says it's just a matter of time before he regains his place in the playing eleven.
Poor batting was at the heart of the debacle.
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.
While Cheteshwar Pujara's place in the Test side is not under any doubt, there are question marks creeping over whether he is the right batsman for the No 3 slot, especially overseas.
India batsman Cheteshwar Pujara jumped a couple of rungs to second, while skipper Virat Kohli held on to the fifth spot in the latest ICC rankings for Test batsmen.
Cheteshwar Pujara scored a scintillating century to place Saurashtra in a dominating position on the third day against Rajasthan
Talking about the pace department, Panesar picked Umesh Yadav as the third pacer ahead of Shardul Thakur. Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj are automatic selections in the playing eleven.
The 24-year-old Rajkot-born batsman is only the sixth Indian to hit a double century against England.
Former captain Rahul Dravid believes a settled middle order can ensure Indian Test team's success abroad.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli's exploits with the bat in the two-Test series sweep of New Zealand will encourage India to believe they have pinpointed the right men to help carry the team through a tricky transitional period.
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.
Former India captain Rahul Dravid can feel the pain Cheteshwar Pujara is going through. The batting icon also had a tough time proving he was good enough for One-Day Internationals after being categorised as a Test specialist in the early part of his career.
The Indian batsmen have been outwitted by Australian spinners in the ongoing Test series but Cheteshwar Pujara insists that there is "nothing wrong" with their batting line-up.
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India will be hoping to pull off a miracle on Sunday by surviving Australia's relentless bowling onslaught.
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.
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.
India A captain Cheteshwar Pujara is a satisfied man after his team won the tri-series beating Australia A in the final but had a word of caution for the senior team stating that Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Co might not get as flat tracks that they got during this series.
It still left Australia in possession of a sizeable lead of 88 and Lyon wrecked India's top order before the home side could erase their deficit.
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