India’s Test number three Cheteshwar Pujara brought up his highest Test score of the series at the SCG. He scored a resilient 77 of as many as 205 balls and added a 148-run stand with Rishabh Pant to bring India to a position of strength in the match. In the process, he went past 6000 Test runs and became the 11th Indian player to do so in the format. Playing his 80th Test match for his country, he became the 11th Indian player to get to that milestone.
Cheteshwar Pujara score fifty in the first innings and backed it up with 77 in the second innings. The International Cricket Council (ICC) also reminded cricket fans across the globe of Pujara’s feat with a tweet. “Cheteshwar Pujara has become the 11th Indian batsman to reach 6000 runs in Test cricket! What a fine player he has been. He is also closing in on a fifty in the #AUSvIND Test,” the ICC tweeted.
Cheteshwar Pujara has become the 11th Indian batsman to reach 6000 runs in Test cricket!
What a fine player he has been 🔥
He is also closing in on a fifty in the #AUSvIND Test. pic.twitter.com/MMApa5sIs9
— ICC (@ICC) January 11, 2021
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Cheteshwar Pujara Enters Elite List
The other Indians who have 6000 plus runs are Sachin Tendulkar (15921) runs, Rahul Dravid (13265), Sunil Gavaskar (10122), VVS Laxman (8781), Virender Sehwag (8503), Virat Kohli (7318), Sourav Ganguly (7212), Dilip Vengsarkar (6868), Mohammad Azharuddin (6215), Gundappa Viswanath (6080).
Pujara took 134 innings to get to 6000 Test runs, which is the fifth quickest among all the Indian players who scored over 6000 runs in Test cricket. This was also the fifth instance of Pujara scoring fifties in both innings of a Test match.
India started the day on 98 for four and scored quickly courtesy the Pant-Pujara stand, which put the Australians on the backfoot. Pant’s innings was praised by former Indian players as it was played in adverse conditions and in an unfriendly situation.
Pujara and Pant were dismissed in quick succession and since then Ravichandran Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari have held fort since then. They are fighting hard to take the game to a draw which will then make the Brisbane Test a decider.
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