#IndiaInAustralia: Cheteshwar Pujara slams 16th career Test ton
Cheteshwar Pujara showed his authority and batting prowess to give India something to cheer for, in the ongoing first Test against Australia in Adelaide. Pujara smashed 123 runs to help India get to 250/9 at stumps on day one. This was his 16th career Test ton and a first in Australia. His 246-ball gritty knock was laced with seven boundaries and two sixes.
Pujara shows composure against Aussies
Pujara came to the crease with India's score reading 3/1. He batted almost the whole day as he stuck to the basics. The defining moment of the day for India was Pujara's 62-run stand with Ashwin (25). Pujara showed composure and solidity in this 246-ball innings. Apart from Virat Kohli, Pujara has been India's most successful batsmen overseas, in the last couple of years.
Pujara surpasses 5,000 run-mark in Tests
The innings also saw Pujara surpassing the 5,000-run mark in Test cricket. He became the 12th Indian to get past this mark. Pujara needs 221 more runs to go past legend Kapil Dev (5,248 runs). He now has 16 tons and 19 fifties in Test cricket. Pujara has the joint-ninth highest Test tons by an Indian batsman.
A flurry of records for Pujara
Pujara became the sixth Indian to smash a ton on the opening day of a Test match outside the subcontinent. He joined the likes of Vijay Manjrekar, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli and Murali Vijay. Pujara took 108 innings to get to 5,000-run mark in Tests and in this process, he became the fifth fastest Indian to achieve the same.
Pujara played some sensible cricket throughout
For India, both Rohit Sharma (37) and Rishabh Pant (25) got off to good starts, but they threw it away. Pujara, on the other hand, continued to play sensible cricket. He brought up his ton in 232 deliveries. The stylish Test batsman was finally run-out at the end of the day. It was for the eighth time he suffered such a consequence.
