Indian veteran Cheteshwar Pujara has had a rocky few months in his career, going through a bit of a struggle in recent days as he suffered a string of low scores for the national side.
His unsatisfactory outings, particularly with several youngsters gunning for a place in the squad, meant that Pujara lost his spot in the team, and so has his long-time teammate Ajinkya Rahane. They have now been replaced by Hanuma Vihari and Shreyas Iyer, who have both done well in the short while that they have had in the side.
It will take a lot for either of Pujara or Rahane to make it back to the side, but the former has begun the process. The right-hander opted out of the Indian Premier League to play for County Championship side Sussex in a bid to regain his place in the Indian side.
He was dismissed for a 15-ball six in the first innings before making it big in the second innings, scoring a magnificent 201* to end his century drought, something that has been plaguing him for the last couple of years.
Sussex’s innings had quite a few interesting statistics associated with it, as Tom Haines and Pujara became the first-ever pair to score double centuries while following on and the first overall since 1921.
The 34-year-old also became just the second Indian after Mohammed Azharuddin to score a double century in the tournament. Azharuddin has two double centuries to his name, both for Derbyshire. It was also Pujara’s first triple-digit score in 52 innings, with his last hundred coming against Karnataka in 2020.
Pujara’s century was also the highest on debut by a Sussex player in the Championship, surpassing Joe Gatting’s 152. Another rare instance was that of three players registering double centuries in the same County game, something that has happened only twice before, in 1952 and in 1998.
Pujara’s double ton could be the start of his comeback journey, something that he will definitely be looking at while he plays in the County Championship. However, the journey is bound to be a difficult one for the veteran, considering the amount of competition he could face for the No.3 spot.
