Cheteshwar Pujara has scored 367 runs in five matches at an average of 91.75 and a strike rate of 120.72, becoming the second highest run-scorer in the competition. Also, his two centuries have come in consecutive matches.
Pujara scored 107 runs in 79 balls against Warwickshire on Friday. He also scored 22 runs in the 45th over, but he could not keep his side over the line. On Sunday, as captain of Sussex, Pujara scored a brilliant 174 runs in 131 balls against Surrey.
With his astonishing knock of 20 fours and five sixes, Pujara now holds the record for the highest score by a Sussex batsman in a List A cricket competition in the United Kingdom, ahead of the 171 scored by Namibian all-rounder David Wiese. against Hampshire in 2019
Pujara also scored his highest score in List A cricket, representing India B at Rajkot in 2012, scoring an unbeaten 158.
The most impressive thing about his knock against the Sussexes was that he saved the team from the starting position at 9/2.
But Pujara rose to the challenge. Pujara scored a half-century in 69 balls after scoring 23 runs in his first 45 balls. Reaching three figures in 103 balls, Pujara played a thrilling innings of 174 runs to propel Sussex to 378/6 in their 50 overs.
He also shared a 205-run partnership with Tom Clarke, who put on 104 for the third wicket.
After Clarke’s dismissal, Pujara marched forward until he struck Surrey’s bowlers, scoring 74 off his last 28 balls before falling in the 48th over.
In his game so far, Pujara has excelled in high shots and even lap shots, to the surprise of many cricket fans in India and around the world.
In ODI cricket, Cheteshwar Pujara got just five chances in the Indian blue jersey, scoring 51 runs at an average of 10.20 and a strike rate of 39.23. But with the way ODI cricket was evolving in the 2013-14 period and people like Virat Kohli as well as Rohit Sharma finding their way into the mix with Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane and Suresh Raina, Pujara was never appropriated. Look-in not found.
In this context, his exploits for the Sussexes look great, but one has to wonder if it is too late to get back to the ODI plan.