Pujara’s 100th Test: Just another day in office for India’s sheet anchor?

Making his debut against Australia in Bengaluru in 2010-11 and impressing with 72 in the second innings, Pujara has been the batting mainstay for the last 10 years.

Cheteshwar Pujara will be the 13th Indian to appear in 100 or more Tests when he takes the field in the second Test against Australia at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium on February 17.

The third Test on March 1 will be his 50th  at home, where he has had an impressive average of 53.71 in 48 Tests with 10 centuries, including three double hundreds. Two  of these were against Australia – 204 in Hyderabad in 2013, and 202 in Ranchi in 2017.

The 35-year-old has been an integral part of the Indian team. His presence at the number three position in the batting line-up, where he safeguards one end and rotates the strike, allows the stroke-makers to keep the scoreboard ticking. Clocking 7,021 runs in 98 Tests at an average of 44.16, with 19 centuries and 34 fifties, is no mean feat.

Thus, if one Indian deserves to play 100 Tests, it is the soft-spoken Pujara. Making his debut against Australia in Bengaluru in 2010-11 and impressing with 72 in the second innings, Pujara has been the batting mainstay for the last 10 years.

It isn’t easy for a player who plays only the red-ball format to stay match-fit. He misses out on facing quality bowlers that those competing in all the formats get to play on a regular basis. Yet, Pujara has found a way out by playing in the English County Championship whenever the chance arises. It’s his hunger for big runs that keeps him going.

Pujara loves his duels against Australia not only in India but also Down Under. Pujara’s overall average against Australia is 52.78 in 21 Tests (1,900 runs, five centuries, and 10 fifties). He’s averaged 47.29 in 11 Tests in Australia, and 60.46 in 10 Tests in India.

The right-handed batsman ups his game when the conditions are challenging. He does not budge from the fight and puts a heavy price on his wicket. Even when the outside world is speaking ill about his slow run rate in this era of T20 blitzkrieg batting, Pujara stays true to his game. He knows he has a job to do for Team India, and his team feels assured when he’s at the crease.

After all, Test cricket is not about scoring at T20 pace. You need a batsman to protect the team and play proper Test cricket the traditional way, watching the ball closely, leaving it outside the off-stump, and scoring only off loose deliveries. It was this aspect of Pujara that came to the fore in India’s sensational come-from-behind Test series win in Australia in 2020-21.

Pujara may not have scored centuries like he had on earlier occasions that  were instrumental in India’s maiden 2-1 Test series victory in Australia, but his spirited half-centuries in 2020-21 – 50 and 77 in Sydney, 56 in Brisbane – are worth their weight in gold.  They were among the key reasons for India’s second successive series victory in Australia.

He didn’t mind taking the blows on his body that the Australian pacemen sent down on the exciting final day in Brisbane in January 2021. He stayed put at the crease while Rishabh Pant did the scoring to take India to a sensational victory. Pujara’s second-innings fifty in Sydney helped India to save the Test on yet another fascinating final day’s play.

And, it is not that he cannot play shots. Feed him short and wide, he is quick to cut over the infield for boundaries. He is unafraid to use his feet against the spinners and play over the top. His drives on either side of the wicket are among the best in the business.

Pujara is fresh from his performance in Bangladesh, where he was named the  Man Of the Series last December. He would certainly want to continue accumulating runs and seeing India victorious once again. And by the end of this series he would have appeared in 102 Tests, assuming he is not bothered by injuries or anything else that keeps him out of a game.

Indians with 100 or more Test appearances:

Sachin Tendulkar (200), Rahul Dravid (163), VVS Laxman (134), Anil Kumble (132), Kapil Dev (131), Sunil Gavaskar (125), Dilip Vengsarkar (116), Sourav Ganguly (113), Virat Kohli (105), Ishant Sharma (105), Harbhajan Singh (103), and Virender Sehwag (103).

Note: The above figures are for representing India. Dravid and Sehwag represented the ICC World XI against Australia in the one-off 'Super Test' in Sydney in October 2005. Their Test tally including the Super Test are 164 and 104, respectively.