Cheteshwar Pujara speaks about the toughest bowlers he has faced

What's the story?

After Ravichandran Ashwin, it's now Cheteshwar Pujara's turn to play his 50th Test for the country when India come up against Sri Lanka in the 2nd Test at Colombo on August 3.

Speaking to Wisden India ahead of his landmark Test, Pujara went on to reveal the toughest bowlers he has faced in his career.

"My first away tour after making my debut, in 2011 when we went to South Africa, facing Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel was the toughest part of my career. And I learnt and when I went there again in 2013, it was a different ball-game all together but yes, 2011 was tough," said Pujara.

"When we first toured South Africa, New Zealand and England, we were a young team, we didn’t know what to expect from the opposition and sometimes we also didn’t know what our strengths were in such conditions," he continued.

In case you didn't know...

Having made his debut back in 2010, Pujara has played 49 Tests so far and has amassed 3966 runs at an average of 52.18 with 15 half-centuries and 12 centuries to his name.

He was dropped from the side after a string of low scores during the early part of 2015 but fought his way back into the side in September that year and has been a consistent cog in the team ever since.

The Details:

Pujara had a great outing in the first Test against the Islanders which India comfortably won by a huge margin of 304 runs.

He scored a magnificent knock of 153 off 265 deliveries with thirteen fours to his name. He also put on a 253 run partnership in the first innings of the match along with Shikhar Dhawan (190) for the 2nd wicket.

India managed to put on a massive total of 600 on the board in the first innings itself and followed that up with a superb bowling performance in both the innings.

What's next?

Pujara will look to continue his good run of form against Sri Lanka in the 2nd Test too as he looks to cross the 4000 run mark as well.

Author's take:

With his performances over the past couple of years, Pujara has cemented his place in the side as the perfect number 3 batsman. With him reaching his 50th Test for the country, we could surely expect to see him go a long way and become one of the best batsmen India has produced.