Contradistinction is nature’s unique way of maintaining universal equilibrium. Cricket, like every other sport, is not beyond the realms of nature.
On a fairly halcyon Thursday morning, Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara arrived at the media centre in Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium, ahead of the second Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023 Test.
His demeanour, stoic; his comportment, calm.
Nothing anyone could ask will perturb him – almost as if any deviation from the calm stature will cost him the honorific ‘Test specialist’ designation.
Around him, however, the world was evolving at a supersonic speed. In New Zealand, England’s Ben Duckett and Harry Brook engaged in rebellion against Test cricket’s Mrs Gundys, scoring runs at strike rates which could pass as ‘decent’ in T20Is.
But that is England, and we all have read enough about ‘Bazball’ already – you say. Fair enough, let’s talk about India’s apex domestic red-ball competition – Ranji Trophy. Pujara’s domestic team, Saurashtra scored 60 runs in the first 12 overs in the final.
The world around Pujara was being mercilessly destroyed, shredded into bits, only to be meticulously constructed again, albeit with a new architecture. A global new world order was being established, with all of its participants galloping, but Pujara remained unperturbed.
His demeanor, stoic; his comportment, calm.
It is with this flirtatious anachronism that he had, with supreme distinction, played 99 Test matches for India. A day ahead of his 100th Test match, chances of a transformation were effectively nil.
Pujara’s Test career has similarities aplenty with most of his knocks – prolonged, yet never lacking intensity. Reposeful, yet filled with battle scars. In this article, we will take a look back at his career through his ten career landmarks.
1. Playing a Match-Winning Knock on Debut
Getting thrown at the deep end is not a recent phenomenon for Pujara – he has been experiencing it since his debut in 2010, when he had to step up in the absence of the injured pair of Gautam Gambhir and VVS Laxman.
The first innings saw him getting out for only four, and in the second innings, the odds were at their highest. India needed 207 runs to him, but Virender Sehwar was dismissed in only the third over. Despite lacking experience, whilst facing one of the world’s fiercest bowling attacks, Pujara scored a match-winning 72.
2. First Test Century To Establish Place in the Team
The next two Test matches did not work out according to plans, but when New Zealand came to India in 2012, the 35-year-old knew well that it was an opportunity he needed to grab. And grab he did, in the most effective manner, by scoring a century.
In a knock where he faced 306 deliveries, Pujara scored 159 runs to help India post a big total. Ultimately, it resulted in an innings triumph.
3. Scoring the First Double Century...
The New Zealand series was followed by an English visit, and for the occasion, Pujara added a new trait to his armoury – consistency.
Playing his seventh match, up against the revered James Anderson-Stuart Broad pair, he scored 206 runs in the first innings, and then doubled it up with a 41-run knock in the second.
The icing on the cake? He remained unbeaten on both occasions.
4. ...And Then Replicating It
To score a double century requires courage, but to do it twice requires impeccable composure – something Pujara always had in abundance, and was on display when he scored his second double ton in 2013. Facing Australia in Hyderabad, he scored 204 runs, and subsequently, became the second-fastest Indian batter to reach the milestone of 1000 Test runs.
5. Setting the Record Straight
Between 2013 to 2016, Pujara chipped in with a century here and a half-century there, although the next significant achievement arrived in 2017. On familiar territory in Hyderabad, Pujara scored two half-centuries against Bangladesh.
It was not the highlight in a match where Virat Kohli struck a double century, but the knocks helped the Rajkot-born player to create a new record – that of scoring the most runs in an Indian first-class season (1605).
6. Longest Ever Test Knock by an Indian
If a player can ever be described using one knock, perhaps, it will be justified to use this 2017 innings in Pujara’s case. Chasing Australia’s 451, he scored 202 runs. That run tally, however, was not the significant aspect of the innings.
In his laborious process of accumulating 202 runs, Pujara ended up facing 525 deliveries, which is the highest number of deliveries any Indian batter had ever faced in a Test match innings.
7. 4000 Test Runs
The second-fastest Indian to 1000 Test runs became the second-fastest to 4000 Test runs in August 2017, thereby, further corroborating his consistency. In a match against Sri Lanka in Colombo, he struck 133 runs to achieve this feat.
8. Leading Run-Scorer in Maiden Test Series Triumph on Australian Soil
Virat Kohli and Rahul Dravid had scored 600+ runs in a solitary Border Gavaskar Trophy series, although it did not help India win the series. Gundappa Vishwanath’s 518 did help India beat Australia in the 1979 series, but it was on home soil.
In 2018, Cheteshwar Pujara played an exceptionally crucial role in India’s maiden Test series victory on Australian soil, as he was the leading run-scorer with 521 runs. The batter struck three centuries and a half-century in that series.
9. Grit at the Gabba
The Australia chapter, despite history being scripted in 2018, was far from over. The famous Gabba breach of 2021 will be remembered for Rishabh Pant’s gallantry, but preceding that was a display of grit by Pujara.
Holding the fort from one end, he scored 56 runs in 211 deliveries, ultimately setting the platform for Pant and Washington Sundar.
10. Back Amongst Centuries
Besides Gabba, Pujara scored half-centuries in Visakhapatnam, Pune, Kolkata, Indore, Christchurch, Sydney, Chennai, Leeds, London, Birmingham and Johannesburg. Yet, centuries had dried up, with the last of the lot coming way back in January 2019.
The streak came to conclusion only a couple of months ago when India toured Bangladesh. After getting dismissed for 90 in the first innings, the 35-year-old made the opportunity count in the second, by scoring an unbeaten 102.
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