Saurashtra surged towards victory against Jharkhand in their opening Ranji Trophy match in Rajkot on Sunday, propelled by an exceptional batting performance by Cheteshwar Pujara that secured a massive first-innings lead of 424 runs.
Pujara, aged 35, began his relentless innings on Saturday, where he started within seven runs of matching Jharkhand’s total of 142 and surged his way to an unbeaten 157 by Stumps. On Day 3, he continued his elegant display, confidently reaching the 200-run milestone and concluding his innings at an unbeaten 243 when captain Jaydev Unadkat declared the innings for the defending champions.
Pujara’s double century marked the 17th in his illustrious 18-year first-class career, placing him fourth in cricket history and second-best with eight in the Ranji Trophy, only behind Paras Dogra’s nine. His composed performance suggested he was on track for a first triple century in a decade, having achieved the milestone thrice in his storied career.
Following a disappointing performance in the World Test Championship Final at The Oval in June, Pujara was dropped from the Indian squad. Subsequently, in Tests played in the Caribbean and South Africa, Shubman Gill occupied the number three spot.
Despite Pujara’s limited success at the international level since his century in the Boxing Day Test against Australia in 2018, where he holds 103 Test caps, selectors looked beyond him.
๐๐ผ๐๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐๐ต๐๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ฃ๐๐ท๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ! ๐ฏ๐ฏ
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) January 7, 2024
A spectacular 2โฃ0โฃ0โฃ in Rajkot from the Saurashtra batter! ๐๐
Follow the match โถ๏ธ https://t.co/xYOBkksyYt#RanjiTrophy | #SAUvJHA | @IDFCFIRSTBank | @saucricket | @cheteshwar1 pic.twitter.com/ofLZSf2qcl
However, Pujara aims to revive his contention for the upcoming five-match Test series against England starting January 25, especially given the national team’s struggles with sustaining lengthy innings, a matter of concern among cricket enthusiasts on Twitter.