Cheteshwar Pujara scored his second test hundred for Sussex in the ongoing County Championship Division Two 2023 at Bristol in England. In the first innings of the match against Gloucestershire, Pujara played a remarkable knock of 151 runs in 238 balls, comprising 20 fours and two sixes. With Pujara in the crease, Sussex had reached 408 runs for four wickets. Tom Alsop (67) and James Coles (74) also contributed to the score from the other side. This is Pujara's seventh century in county cricket, and he has converted all his fifty-plus scores into centuries.
Thriving in the County circuit
Pujara's century helped his team reach a total of 335 runs in response to the first-inning total of 376 runs posted by Durham. Sussex eventually won the match by two wickets. Pujara had also scored a century (115 off 163 balls) against Durham in the first innings of the previous match.
Last year, Pujara was in excellent form for Sussex. He scored 1,094 runs in eight matches in the Championship at an average of 109.40, with five half-centuries and the best score of 231. He was the fourth-highest run-scorer in the division.
Building form ahead of WTC Final
Pujara also performed well in the One-Day Cup last year, scoring 624 runs in nine matches at an average of 89.14 and a strike rate of 111.62. He scored three centuries and two half-centuries, with the best score of 174, and led his team to the semi-final of the tournament as a skipper.
Pujara's century for Sussex is a good sign for India, as they are preparing for the ICC World Test Championship 2021–23 final against Australia, starting on June 7 at The Oval in London. Last year, Pujara scored 409 runs in five Tests and 10 innings for India at an average of 45.44, with one century and three half-centuries. However, his statistics this year have been average, with 140 runs in four Tests and six innings at an average of 28.00 and only one half-century.
Since the 2022 County Championship, Pujara has played 18 innings in the tournament, scoring 1426 runs with an average of 95.07, consisting of seven hundreds, out of which three are double centuries.
