Rated highly for his impeccable skills and unmatched determination - Cheteshwar Pujara is the backbone of Indian batting line-up when it comes to cricket's purest format. Since his debut in red ball cricket in 2010 versus Australia, the Rajkot-born batsman as grown leaps and bounds as his career progressed. With his outstanding technique and ability to bat for long hours without losing concentration, Pujara has been a thorn in the flesh of oppositions. With an impressive career average of more than 50 in Test cricket, Pujara is presently rated among the best number three batsmen in the world while playing in whites. Mostly compared with Rahul Dravid for his sheer sense of determination and will power to bat for long hours without breaking any sweat, Pujara has carved a niche for himself in the cricketing world. Despite being picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders in the first edition of Indian Premier League (2008), Pujara never managed to leave a mark in white ball cricket and largely due to his reputation as an exclusive Test player. After a forgettable tour to England in 2014/15, the right-handed batsman spent some extended sessions in English County cirucit with teams - Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire. Major teams: India, Derbyshire, India A, India Green, India Under-19s, Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Nottinghamshire, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Saurashtra, Saurashtra Under-16s, Saurashtra Under-19s, Yorkshire Playing role: Top-order batsman Batting style: Right-hand bat Bowling style: Legbreak
Read MoreThe battle lines are drawn and the summit clash will not just be about Cheteshwar Pujara and Umesh Yadav only but also about Wasim Jaffer, who is a domestic doyen in every sense of the terms.
No matter how much we rave about Kohli and Pujara, they still have a long way to go before being considered amongst the greatest Test batsmen of all time.
Cheteshwar Pujara played two match-winning, unbeaten knocks in the quarter-final and semi-final against Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka respectively, to guide Saurashtra into the Ranji Trophy final.
Saurashtra will now meet defending champions Vidarbha in the final of the national championship to be played from February 3-7 in Jaipur.
Cheteshwar Pujara hit his 49th first class hundred and shared an unconquered 201-run fourth-wicket stand with Sheldon Jackson (90) to help Saurashtra end day four at 224/3, just 55 runs away from victory against Karnataka.
He is incidentally the only Indian player to have faced more than 500 balls in a single Test innings - against Australia in Ranchi.
Apart from Agarwal, skipper Manish Pandey, who has been scoring runs, will be looking to continue his good form. Karun Nair and Jaydev Unadkat are the other players who would like to contribute for Karnataka.
While many consider Pujara to be a red-ball specialist, the batsman differed by saying that his white-ball record speaks for itself.
Having scored 385 in their first innings, Uttar Pradesh removed Cheteshwar Pujara cheaply on the second day and mopped the tail on the third morning for 208 to take a substantial 177 run lead in first innings.
Uttar Pradesh, resuming day two at 340 for seven, went on to make 385 all out in 103.3 overs with Saurashtra skipper Jaydev Unadkat taking a five-wicket haul.
Pujara confirming his availability for the crucial tie is a big shot in the arm for Saurashtra, who were undefeated in Group A alongside Vidarbha with three wins and five draws.
From Adelaide to Sydney, here's a recap of the four-match Test series in Australia where India emerged victorious against the hosts by 2-1.
India won the four-match Test series 2-1 against Australia with Pujara fetching the man of the series award with a total of 521 runs, including three hundreds.
Pujara scored 521 runs in the series with three centuries and a half century with 193 as his highest score and Tendulkar pin-pointed that Pujara was outstanding in the series.
Shubman Gill has been in sensational form for Punjab in the Ranji Trophy this season and he said that he is learning a lot by seeing Cheteshwar Pujara.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday announced a bonus of INR 15 lakh per match for every Indian player who featured in the playing XI for the four-match Test series.
Spinner Kuldeep Yadav has gained seven slots to reach a career-best 45th position after his figures of five for 99 in Australia’s first innings of Sydney Test.
What made Pujara and Bumrah performance more special was that they were able to overshadow even Virat Kohli, who has always stood head and shoulders above his peers in adverse conditions.
What we now know that we didn't before the 4-Test series between Australia and India that concluded in Sydney on 7th January.
Pujara amassed 521 runs and won the Man of the Series award in India's maiden Test series triumph in Australia, but came a cropper when it came to dancing.
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