Cheteshwar Pujara

Cheteshwar Pujara
Personal information
Full name Cheteshwar Arvind Pujara
Born 25 January 1988 (1988-01-25) (age 24)
Rajkot, Gujarat, India
Nickname Chintu
Batting style Right-handed
Bowling style Right arm Leg spin
Role Batsman
Relations AS Pujara (father), BS Pujara (uncle)
International information
National side India
Only Test (cap 266) 9 October 2010 v Australia
Domestic team information
Years Team
2008-2010 Kolkata Knight Riders
2005–present Saurashtra
Career statistics
Competition Tests First-class List A Twenty20
Matches 3 56 50 25
Runs scored 107 4,130 2,078 304
Batting average 21.40 55.81 53.28 21.71
100s/50s –/1 14/15 6/13 0/0
Top score 72 302* 122* 45*
Balls bowled 153
Wickets 5
Bowling average 16.60
5 wickets in innings 0
10 wickets in match 0
Best bowling 2/4
Catches/stumpings 6/– 33/– 16/– 10/–
Source: ESPNCricinfo, 8 October 2011

Cheteshwar Arvind Pujara (born 25 January 1988, in Rajkot, Gujarat) is an Indian Test cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman. Pujara has the distinction of hitting three triple centuries within a span of one month, although only the last of these was in a first-class match. In December 2008, the BCCI awarded him a D-grade national contract. In the Indian Premier League, he plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore.Cheteshwar was first coached by Shlok Sayani when he played for railways.

Pujara captained the India A team on a tour to England during the 2010 northern hemisphere summer and was the most prolific scorer on that tour. He is currently competing with the likes of Rohit Sharma, Subramaniam Badrinath, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Manoj Tiwary for a spot in the middle order of the Indian Test team. He has scored 3 triple centuries prior to 2009.

Test debut

Pujara was selected for the Indian squad for the home Test series (2-match series) against Australia in 2010, replacing Yuvraj Singh who has been struggling with form and weight issues. He made his debut in the Second Test of the series on 9 October 2010 at Bangalore after both Gautam Gambhir and VVS Laxman were down with injuries sustained in the First Test. While Laxman was off the field injured in the First Test, Pujara took two catches at silly point as a substitute. Pujara's first Test innings was short however as he scored four runs but was adjudged leg before wicket to Mitchell Johnson on the third ball he faced.

In the second innings, with India needing 207 to win, he made 72 before being bowled by an arm ball from Nathan Hauritz. In the second innings, Pujara was sent up the order at number three in place of Rahul Dravid in a tactical change as India went on to win the test by seven wickets. 9 October, the start of his Test debut, was the fifth anniversary of his mother's death due to cancer.

References