India's Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara played an instrumental role in India's epic 2-1 series win against Australia earlier this month. His stoic approach gathered heavy praises as the right-handed batsman ended the campaign with 271 runs from four matches.
It was not the first time, Pujara made the Australian bowling attack look hapless. The Saurashtra cricketer played a similar role when India travelled to Australia back in 2018. In that tour, Pujara had emerged as the standout player and amassed 521 runs from four matches. He had then bagged the player of the series award, as India scripted a historic series win on the back of some brilliant knock by the middle-order batsman.
Happy birthday, @cheteshwar1
81 Tests
6111 runs
46 fifty-plus scoresHe has three Test double hundreds to his name, including a high score of 206*
One of the grittiest batters in the game! pic.twitter.com/mGYnkpn0Lq
— ICC (@ICC) January 25, 2021
On Monday, India's hero in red-ball format turned 33. Pujara, who is currently at home after the conclusion of a rigorous Test series against Australia, will soon be back in action in the upcoming series against England. On his special day, let’s take a look back at his numbers so far -
Second-highest batting average at home (min. 1500 runs)
Pujara has a batting average of 59.84 in India, which also is the second-highest batting average for an Indian batsman after Virat Kohli. The Indian skipper leads the chart with a batting average of 68.42.
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Fifth-highest number of deliveries played in Tests so far
Pujara has often frustrated the bowlers with a disciplined batting stance, something which was evident in the recently-concluded Test series against Australia. The right-handed batsman has so far played 13572 deliveries in 136 Test innings, while India batting legend Rahul Dravid, who tops the chart, has played a total of31,5278 balls in his illustrious Test career.
Pujara's record in Australia
Pujara has so far played 11 Tests in Australia and in which he has scored three tons. Batting at an average of 47.28, the right-handed batsman has so far accumulated 993 runs. Pujara's heroics in 2018-19 also helped India become the first Asian country to beat Australia at home in a Test series.
