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Cheteshwar Pujara brought up his 19th Test hundred on Day 3 of the ongoing Test between India and Bangladesh in Chattogram. He reached the coveted milestone after going century-less for over 50 innings across a time period of nearly 4 years.
This was a very non-typical Pujara hundred. He showed intent from the start of the innings. He played a pull shot against a fast bowler, attempted a slog sweep and kept stepping out of the crease and playing lofted shots against spinners.
Let's talk about Pujara's fastest Test centuries in this article.
#1 102*(130) vs Bangladesh, Chattogram 2022
India won the toss and opted to bat in the first match of the series. They scored 404 in the first innings, which was a commendable effort given they were 48/3 at one point. Pujara was the top-scorer with 90, while Iyer, Ashwin, Pant and Kuldeep also chipped in with valuable runs.
In response, Bangladesh collapsed for just 150 runs. However, India did not enforce the follow-on and batted for the second time in the game. Pujara walked in to bat when the score was 70/1. He was unfortunate to have missed out on a hundred in the first innings. This time he wanted to make it count.
The 34-year-old hit 13 fours in his 130-ball stay at the crease, after which captain KL Rahul declared the innings. He dominated in the 75 runs partnership with former skipper Virat Kohli, who was content to rotate the strike to the in-form batter.
#2 101*(148) vs New Zealand, Indore 2016
India won the toss and scored 557/5 in the first innings, thanks to big scores from Virat Kohli (211) and Ajinkya Rahane (188). In response, New Zealand could only score 299 as Ravichandran Ashwin took 6 wickets and triggered 2 run-outs.
India did not follow on in this Test, choosing to bat once again. They were batting aggressively to set a high target for the Kiwis in the 4th innings. Surprisingly, Pujara was the most aggressive batter in the innings after opener Gautam Gambhir (50) was dismissed.
Pujara scored a top-quality hundred, his 8th in the format against a good New Zealand bowling attack. The top-order batter hit nine fours in a 202-minute stay at the crease. He dominated the bowlers even when the likes of Kohli and Rahane were batting alongside him.
#3 113 (167) vs West Indies, Wankhede 2013
Sachin Tendulkar was playing his 200th and final Test match - making it a landmark event in Indian cricketing history. What made the occasion even more special was the fact that the game happened at Sachin's home ground in Wankhede.
Batting first, West Indies could only score 182 runs in the first innings. In response, both openers gave a quick-fire start but were dismissed in the same over. In walked the great man, and alongside him was a future star for India in red-ball cricket. Cheteshwar Pujara batted with an aggressive approach in this Test.
A partnership of 144 runs between him and Tendulkar was of extremely high quality. He exhibited the shots he possessed against spin bowling in particular. India scored 495 runs in the first innings. They bowled out West Indies for 187 runs in the 2nd innings, winning the game by an innings and 126 runs.
