Veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara on Sunday announced his retirement from all forms cricket via a social media post. Though Pujara played in five ODIs for India, he will be remembered for his contribution for India in Test matches. Here are the list of his three best knocks in the longest format of the game.
145* vs Sri Lanka in Colombo
In the third Test of India’s Tour of Sri Lanka in 2015, Pujara hit an unbeaten 145 runs in the first innings when most of the batters failed to touch 30-run mark except Amit Mishra. Coming in as an opener, Pujara carried the bat and hit 14 fours against a spin attack led by Rangana Herath. India went on to win the match by 117 runs, but it could have been a different result had Pujara not contributed with a stellar knock in the first innings.
123 vs Australia in Adelaide
In the first Test of India’s tour of Australia in 2018, Pujara hit 123 runs in the first innings when none of the other Indian batters could even touch 40. In the whole match, it was the only hundred hit by any batter from both the sides. Pujara’s innings consisted of seven fours and two sixes. He scored 71 runs in the second innings. India went on to win the match by 31 runs, an important victory in their memorable 2-1 series win.
77 against Australia in Sydney
In the third Test of the India’s tour of Australia in 2021, Pujara played two important knocks to help India secure a fighting draw in Sydney. In the first innings, he scored 50 of 70 balls, including five fours, and in the second innings, he scored a fighting 77 of 205 balls, including 12 fours. He took many body blows during the innings, but his spirit was indomitable, making him an integral member of India’s 2-1 series victory to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
For the latest sports news follow- Revsportz