When India take the field in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Thursday, Cheteshwar Pujara will be playing his 50th Test match.
The Gujarat lad has been a rock at the number three position for the Indian Test team in the past few years. He has scored 3,966 runs in 49 matches at a staggering average of 52.18.
Pujara is placed fourth in the list of highest Test runs for India after 49 Tests. Only Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid had notched more runs than him.
As Pujara gets ready to play his 50th Test, here’s a look at his top five innings in the five-day format.
1. 202 vs Australia, Ranchi, 2017
The double century against Australia in the third Test of the four-match series is probably one of the greatest innings of all time.
Australia started the Test brilliantly by posting a huge total of 451 runs in the first innings. They were certainly in the driver’s seat to take a 2-1 lead in the series.
But then the Pujara’s show began. He fought with his grit and determination. He played the longest Test innings by an Indian (525 balls) and helped India post 603/9d. In his innings of 202 runs, he smashed 21 boundaries!
Eventually the match was drawn.
2. 145* vs Sri Lanka, Colombo, 2015
The century in the third Test against Sri Lanka in 2015 proved his mental strength yet again. After being dropped for four Test matches in 2015, Pujara got a chance to play after Murali Vijay was ruled out of the match due to an injury. The Gujarat lad made a return to the team as an opener.
Pujara wasn’t going to let this chance go away. As the batting fell around him, Pujara kept concentrating on the job at hand and eventually carried his bat at the end of the innings.
He remained not out on 145, which helped India post 312 runs in the first innings. India eventually won the match by 117 runs.
3. 92 vs Australia, Bengaluru, 2017
Pujara may have missed out on a century in the second Test against Australia, but this is one of the innings that he will certainly hold close to his heart.
India were under the pump after losing the first Test and conceding a lead of 87 runs in the second Test.
India needed a big partnership to resurrect their match in the second innings and it came in the form of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane.
After the duo got together at 120/4, Pujara and Rahane (52) added 118 runs to take India to a safe position. Pujara grinded out an innings of 92 runs off 221 balls.
India managed to get a lead of 187 runs and eventually won the match by 75 runs.
4. 153 vs South Africa, Johannesburg, 2013
The match was in the balance when India eked out a 36-run lead in the first Test against South Africa. To give the Proteas a stiff competition at their own den, India needed a big second innings score.
For the visiting side, two of their best Test batsmen, Virat Kohli (96) and Pujara stepped up and took India to a position, where they cannot lose from.
Pujara played a fantastic innings of 153 runs against a tough bowling attack comprising of Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel, Jacques Kallis and Imran Tahir. The Gujarat lad smashed 21 boundaries in his innings.
The match was eventually drawn.
5. 206*vs England, Ahmedabad, 2012
Only in his ninth innings, Pujara notched his first double century in Test cricket. The Gujarat lad took on the bowling attack comprising of James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann and smashed them all over the park.
He smacked 21 fours in his innings of 206* off 389 balls. It is still his highest Test score till date. The double century guided India to a huge total of 521/8d and eventually the home side won the match by 9 wickets.
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