- 204 in the first innings against Australia at Hyderabad in 2013
The second Test in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2012-13 played at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad, saw another classic innings played by Cheteshwar Pujara.
Electing to bat, the Aussies’ first innings folded up with 237 runs on the board. Only skipper, Michael Clarke (91) and the wicket-keeper, Mathew Wade (62) made contributions worth mentioning.
For India, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja picked up 3 wickets each.
Losing Virendra Sehwag (6) very early in the innings, Pujara and Murli Vijay combined together to add 370 runs for the second wicket. While Vijay scored 167 runs, Cheteshwar Pujaraplayed an innings of 450 minutes, faced 34 deliveries and notched up his second Test double-ton.
Pujara’s century came in 188 balls with 14 hits to the fence. While his 150 runs came off 230 deliveries with the help of 24 fours and a six, his double-ton took 332 balls aided by 30 fours and a solitary six.
In an innings panning 450 minutes, facing 34 deliveries, Cheteshwar Pujara ended up scoring 204 runs studded with 30 hits to the fence and one beyond before he was superbly caught by a diving Xavier Doherty, while trying to negotiate a bouncer aimed at his head by James Pattinson.
The huge partnership between Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara helped India pile up 503 runs and take a vital lead of 266 runs in the first innings. Making ‘short work’ of the Aussies in their second knock, India went on to win the game by an innings and 135 runs.
Cheteshwar Pujara was awarded the Player of the Match award.
