The ongoing Ranji Trophy 2019-20 title-contender clash between Bengal and Saurashtra is evenly poised at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot. Meanwhile, the home side suffered a severe setback with their star batsman Cheteshwar Pujara suffering an injury which has made his availability for the rest of the game doubtful.

Pujara, who was a part of the Test squad for the two-match series against New Zealand, joined the Saurashtra squad for the title clash immediately upon landing in the country. Due to excessive travelling and change in atmosphere, Cheteshwar Pujara was sick on day one of the match and didn’t come out to bat in his usual No.3 position.

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Although he came out to bat in the latter part of the day but had to retire hurt with a bout of illness. However, he had come out to bat on day two and helped Saurashtra recover from a middle-order collapse to post a big total in the first innings with a timely half-century. Pujara and Arpit Vasavada had batted together for five hours on day two to lay the foundation for a formidable total of 425. Batting at number six, the India international scored 66 off 237 balls.

But Cheteshwar Pujara looks unlikely to bat in the second innings. The host will seek his batting services in the second innings only if they need it. He did not take the field on day three after pulling a back muscle during warm-up.

“Pujara pulled his back while warm-up. He then went to the hospital for a scan. He will only bat if required,” Saurashtra Cricket Association president Jaydev Shah told PTI.

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Meanwhile, speaking about the game, Bengal have made a strong reply in pursuit of Saurashtra’s first innings total. Despite losing the openers in a short span, Manoj Tiwary and Sudip Chatterjee steadied the innings before Wriddhiman Saha joined as they look to take a first-innings lead in this important clash.