Cheteshwar Pujara made a strong case to make a comeback
Photo : AP
Once considered the wall and backbone of the Indian test team, Cheteshwar Pujara is aiming to make a comeback to the national team before the World Test Championship final. After facing a lean phase with thebat, he was dropped after the WTC final, and since then he has been out of the test team.
However, the 36-year-old batsman hasn't given up yet. On Monday, October 21, Pujara crossed 21000 first-class runs with a commanding 138* in a Ranji Trophy match against Chhattisgarh before lunch. This is his 25th Ranji Trophy century, 1st in this 2024 season, and 66th overall in FC cricket. He reached his hundred in 197 balls with 11 boundaries after coming out to bat no. 3 at a very crucial stage after his team lost their first wicket in the 6th over.
From there, Pujara took charge, showed his experience, and built a strong partnership with Sheldon Jackson. Batting first, Chhattisgarh made 578/7 in the first innings. Saurashtra were trailing behind by 278 runs at lunch on day four. With his century, Pujara has given Saurashtra an outside chance of taking the first innings lead and grabbing extra points in the 4th and final day of this match.
Pujara Breaks Brian Lara's record
The Indian batter surpassed former West Indies captain Brian Lara's record with his 66th first-class century. Pujara reached this significant milestone in the 2nd match of the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy season against Chhattisgarh at Rajkot. This century took Pujara to third place in the list of highest first class centuries among Indians, lacking behind Rahul Dravid (68) as well as Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar (81) each. Gavaskar, who played domestic cricket for Mumbai, leads the list of runs with 25,834, followed by Tendulkar, who finished his career with 25,396, and Dravid is currently third in the list with 23,794 runs, followed by Pujara.
If Pujara continues his recent form and with his impressive past record in Australia, the selectors could consider a comeback for him. Keeping this in mind that India has to win 5 out of 7 remaining matches to reach the WTC finals, Pujara has some hope of earning a recall to the Indian team
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