Ranji Trophy: Cheteshwar Pujara's 110 Takes Saurashtra To 242/4 Against Rajasthan

09.02.2024 - 18:51 sports.ndtv.com

Veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara slammed his second hundred of the ongoing Ranji Trophy season, guiding Saurashtra to a comfortable 242 for four against Rajasthan on the opening day of their Group A match in Jaipur Friday.

The 36-year-old, who has 103 Tests and 262 First-Class matches under his belt, hit nine shots to the fence during his 230-ball 110.

It was his 62nd hundred in first class cricket. Pujara had scored a double hundred (243 not out), last month. Opting to bat, Saurashtra found themselves in a spot of bother after they were reduced to 74 for 3 in the 32nd over but Pujara and Sheldon Jackson (78 not out) then formed an alliance, adding 168 runs for the fourth wicket.

Pujara, who last played a Test in June 2023 -- the World Test Championship final against Australia -- was the last wicket to fall in the 90th over.

cricket India Cricket Team Sheldon Jackson Cheteshwar Pujara Australia India

The out-of-favour duo of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer were excluded after ignoring the directive to play Ranji Trophy, while skipper Rohit Sharma and star batter Virat Kohli expectedly retained their place in the top bracket as the BCCI unveiled its centrally-contracted players for this year on Wednesday. The 25-year-old Kishan did not turn up for Jharkhand throughout the team's campaign in Ranji Trophy despite not being on national duty since leaving from the tour of South Africa in December citing personal reasons. He has instead focussed on preparing for the IPL next month.

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Tailenders Tanush Kotian and Tushar Deshpande entered the record books with a century each but it was their team's slender first-innings lead against Andhra that propelled Mumbai into the semifinals of the Ranji Trophy on Tuesday. With the contest ending in a draw on the fifth day at the BKC Ground, Mumbai made it to the final four on the virtue of first-innings lead.

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"Is Cheteshwar Pujara's International Career Over?": England Great's Tough Question As Indian Batters Struggle In Ranchi Test

Legenday pacer Stuart Broad has been following the India vs England fourth Test quite closely. The former right-arm England pacer is also taking it to social media to fire in his opinions about the game and also about the two teams. On Saturday, the Indian top and middle-order, barring Yashasvi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel, faltered against the England spinners. Shoaib Bashir picked four wickets while Tom Hartley scalped two. Commenting on India's batting, Broad asked if out-of-favour Test batter Cheteshwar Pujara's international career is over. He suggested that India could have included the veteran in the team as it would have provided them "some consistency" in the absence of star batter Virat Kohli.

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After a month and half of topsy-turvy ride, eight teams have managed to steer themselves clear of other 24 contenders to enter the quarterfinals. Now, they are standing at a point of no return, as even the slightest slip can throw them out at the quarterfinals stage, beginning across India from Friday. There are familiar faces -- 41-time champions Mumbai, strong contenders Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, giant-killers Vidarbha and Baroda, the stonewalling Saurashtra besides Madhya Pradesh and Andhra, who are capable of springing a surprise or two. So, here's a closer look at the four last eight clashes.