5 Defiant Cheteshwar Pujara Innings

#2) 145* , 3rd Test, India tour of Sri Lanka at Colombo, Aug 28-Sep 1, 2015

Pujara’s 145* will go down as one of the best innings played by an Indian batsman in India-Sri Lanka cricket rivalry.

It was the decider of the three match Test series level at 1-1. Sri Lanka had made a strong start as they claimed wickets at regular intervals and reduced India to 173/6. They got the better of every Indian batsman, but not Pujara. He kept the scoreboard ticking and also held up one end. He also stitched together some small but important partnerships of 50 with Virat Kohli, 55 with Rohit Sharma and 54 with Naman Ojha.

However, the real turning point came when he combined with Amit Mishra to build a partnership of 104 runs to take India to a strong position. Mishra also fell after a match defining knock of 57 runs.

Pujara, however, remained unbeaten on 145 (289) until the end like a lone warrior. But he had already taken India to a safe total of 312 runs in the first innings.

As a result of his fabulous innings, India went on to win the match by 117 runs and also won the series 2-1 after a long wait. Pujara’s 145* will go down as one of the best innings played by an Indian batsman in India-Sri Lanka cricket rivalry.