Cheteshwar Pujara: Decoding his stats for Sussex in County Championship
Extending his sensational run in County cricket, Cheteshwar Pujara smoked a match-winning ton on his captaincy debut for Sussex. The Indian batter smoked a brilliant 115 and followed it up with an important 35 in his side's County Championship Division Two 2023 game against Durham. As a result, Sussex thrillingly won the contest by two wickets. Here we decode Pujara's stats for Sussex.
Captain Pujara leads from the front
Durham posted 376 while batting first and in reply, Sussex were struggling at 2/44. Batting at number four, Pujara batted with intent and fired 115 off just 163 balls. He helped his side finish at 335. Chasing 231 for victory, the Sussex skipper played another important knock, 35 off 43 balls. Though Sussex's chase wasn't smooth, they eventually crossed the line.
Sensational run last season
Notably, Pujara joined Sussex last season after getting dropped from the Indian Test team. He piled up a mountain of runs and subsequently earned a recall. He (1,094) compiled the fourth-most runs in County Division Two, ranking behind Wayne Madsen (1,273), Haseeb Hameed (1,235), and Sam Northeast (1,189). The tally includes five tons as he averaged a behemoth 109.40.
Pujara scripted history at Lord's for Sussex
Pujara scripted history with a 403-ball 231 against Middlesex at Lord's. As per ESPNcricinfo, he became the first Sussex batter to make a double-century against Middlesex at the iconic venue. He also scored double-tons vs Derbyshire (201*) and Durham (203). Four of his five tons last season were scores of 170 or more. No other batter mustered more tons in Division 2.
A look at his First-Class numbers
Hailed as the 'Modern-Day Wall,' Pujara has racked up 18,808 runs in 246 First-Class matches at 51.81. The tally includes 57 tons and 75 fifties. His tally of 16 FC double-tons is the most by an Asian batter. In Test cricket, he has piled up 7,154 runs in 102 games at 43.88. He has mustered 19 centuries and 35 fifties in India whites.
Pujara gearing up for WTC final
India will meet Australia in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 final, which will take place at the Oval, London, from June 7-11. Having done well in English conditions, Pujara will be expected to make a significant contribution. Notably, Australia's bowling attack would be studded with world-class pacers like Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Pat Cummins. Nathan Lyon's off-spin can't be neglected either.
