Cheteshwar Pujara completes 12000 runs in First Class cricket in India

Veteran Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara has achieved yet another glorious feat in first-class cricket, completing a staggering 12000 runs on Indian soil. He reached this landmark on Friday while playing for Saurashtra in their second innings of the Ranji Trophy encounter against Andhra.

Pujara has been a mainstay in the Indian Test team for more than a decade. He has had his ups and downs, but every single time he was written off by the cricketing fraternity, the 34-year-old ensured that he made a strong comeback.

Cheteshwar Pujara played a fighting knock of 91 for Saurashtra and tried to keep their hopes alive against Andhra. However, that wasn't to be as Saurashtra lost by 150 runs.

---

Cheteshwar Pujara is crucial to India's chances in Border-Gavaskar Trophy

It is well-documented that Pujara seems to bring his A-game to the table whenever India face Australia. In 20 Tests against the Aussies, Pujara has scored a staggering 1893 runs at an outstanding average of 54.08. He also has five centuries and 10 fifties to his name.

India's historic 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy win had a number of unsung heroes and Pujara was definitely one of them. While the likes of Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant were flamboyant in their strokeplay, Pujara wore down the Australian bowlers by batting for long periods.

The hosts will need the veteran right-hander to continue the form that he showed in the Bangladesh Tests and help India qualify for the World Test Championship final.

India’s Test squad for the first two Tests against Australia: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav.

(Note: Jadeja’s inclusion in the squad is subject to fitness.)