Pujara is not the kind of cricketer who is associated with white-ball cricket. As far as his international career is concerned, this legendary batsman plays the longest format for Team India. Even though he was a part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the 2021 season, Pujara did not play a single match for Chennai Super Kings.
However, considering his batting talent in England, some IPL franchises may give a chance to the senior batsman. There has been a lot of positive change in Pujara’s game since he started playing for Sussex. This innings is an introduction to that same positivity.
Chasing 311 runs in 50 overs, Pujara’s team Sussex needed an aggressive innings in the middle and this Indian did not disappoint. In the last ten overs, Sussex needed 102 runs to win the match. This is when Pujara shifted gears and went from 50 to 100 in just 22 balls.
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In an over off England’s Liam Norwell, Pujara scored 22 runs in 6 balls – 4, 2, 4, 2, 6 and 4 – to keep Sussex in the game.
Sussex then needed 20 runs in the last two overs. On the first ball of the 49th over, Oliver Hannon-Dalby of Warwickshire took the crucial wicket of Pujara. Pujara’s dismissal left Sussex’s chase and the team reduced to 306/7 but his innings brought the team very close to victory.
Despite Pujara’s best efforts, Sussex failed to win the match against Warwickshire. Had the Indians stayed at the crease for one more over, the result for their team would have been different. With four points from three matches, Pujara’s team is currently in second place in the tournament. The Sussexes are still in a promising position as far as the tournament is concerned.