WTC Final: Cheteshwar Pujara's 3 best knocks against New Zealand

As India's World Test Championship (WTC) match against New Zealand draws closer, the latter will certainly be wary of India's solid top order, and among them, Cheteshwar Pujara is the one they will be particularly keen on sending back to the pavilion early, and for good reason.

The No. 3 batsman has been immensely reliable for India over the years. His dogged approach, fitness levels of a greyhound and the ability to compile big scores make him a bowler's worst nightmare.

To add to his repertoire, Pujara has quite the record against New Zealand, scoring 749 runs at an average of 43.96, stacking up two centuries and four fifties in the nine matches played against them.

As India gear up for the June 18 clash, we take a look at some of Pujara's best performances against Kane Williamson's men.

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#1 2012: Pujara's 159 at Vizag. Can he get one in the WTC?

Ravichandran Ashwin may have been the player of the match for his 12-wicket haul which helped India secure a 115-run win, but setting the tone for a formidable first innings total was Pujara with a patient 159 of 306 deliveries.

He stitched up valuable partnerships with Virat Kohli (58) and MS Dhoni (73) as India scored 434 and skittled NZ out for 159 and 164. Kohli will be hoping for another century or two at the WTC final.

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#2 2016: 62 and 78 in India's 179-run win at Kanpur

Pujara starred in another dominant win by crafting fine fifties in both innings. Batting first, India rode on knocks from Murali Vijay (65), Pujara (62) as well as handy contributions from Ashwin (40) and Ravindra Jadeja (42) lower down the order.

The second innings saw him notch up a stroke-filled 78 off 152 as India declared at 377 for 5. In return, NZ folded for 236, battered particularly hard by Jadeja, who picked up six wickets in the second innings after a fifer in the first.

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#3 Unbeaten 101 at Holkar as India won by 321 runs

After scoring a sedate 41 in the first innings, Pujara knocked out an unbeaten 101 off 148 deliveries as India declared at 216 for 3. The same call was made in the first innings with India on 557 runs, courtesy of a double century by Kohli (211) and Ajinkya Rahane's 188. Ashwin was the wrecker-in-chief, with 13 wickets from both innings as India sailed toward a comprehensive 321-run win.