Sussex Captain Cheteshwar Pujara smashed 22 runs in an over against Warwickshire, in Royal London One-Day Cup on Friday (12 August). Pujara played a 107-run knock in 79 balls. His innings consisted of 2 sixes and 7 fours.
Batting first, Warwickshire posted a challenging total of 310/6 in 50 overs. Robert Yates (114 off 111), Will Rhodes (76 off 70) and Michael Burgess (58 off 51) were the top performers for Warwickshire.
Chasing 311, Sussex needed 70 runs off 36 balls when Pujara went berserk. In the 45th over of Sussex innings, bowled by right-arm pacer Liam Norwell, Pujara smashed 4, 2, 4, 2, 6, 4.
Pujara played all kinds of innovative shots. He shuffled across the crease, flicked the ball off his pads, muscled one over extra cover, and rocketed the other over the bowler’s head.
Watch the video:
4 2 4 2 6 4
TWENTY-TWO off the 47th over from @cheteshwar1. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/jbBOKpgiTI
— Sussex Cricket (@SussexCCC) August 12, 2022
With 20 runs needed from 12 deliveries, Sussex lost the wicket of Pujara. Warwickshire’s Oliver Hannon-Dalby picked up the important wicket. Pujara’s dismissal derailed the chase for Sussex and the team was restricted to 306/7, handing Warwickshire a four-run win.
Alistair Orr (81 off 102) was the other batter who performed well for Sussex, apart from Pujara. For Warwickshire, left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya picked 3 wickets conceding 51 in his 10-over spell.
Warwickshire has now moved to the fourth spot in the table with five points from three games. Sussex stand sixth with four points from four games.
Meanwhile, Pujara was signed by Sussex in March, for 2022 County Championship and Royal London One-Day Cup. After joining Sussex, Pujara had said: “I am excited and honoured to be a part of the historic Sussex County Cricket Club for the upcoming season. I do look forward to joining up with the Sussex family soon and be a part of its rich cricketing history. Over the years I have always enjoyed my time in the UK playing county cricket, so eagerly looking forward to the new stint and hope to contribute to the club’s success.”
Gutted we couldn't see this one through! Brave effort by the team. We gear up for the next one @SussexCCC 💪 #SharkAttack pic.twitter.com/CcjnvJiPzt
— Cheteshwar Pujara (@cheteshwar1) August 12, 2022
Here’s how Twitter reacted to Cheteshwar Pujara’s explosive knock:
We first had Pujara.
Then we had Pant.
Then we had Pujara and Pant.
Now we have Pujara becoming Pant.
What next? https://t.co/cUx3PWAwhv
— Abhishek Mukherjee (@ovshake42) August 12, 2022
Cheteshwar Pujara going full throttle #RoyalLondonCup https://t.co/oE7Vgg5zCO
— Saurabh Srivastava (@Saurv99) August 12, 2022
Yeh nahi dekha to kya dekha https://t.co/Y1tdeBID2M
— Rasesh Mandani (@rkmrasesh) August 12, 2022
This is something 😍 https://t.co/4BmP1Y3oCN
— Vishal Pushkar (@VISHALPUSHKAR6) August 12, 2022
On a good day, Pujara scored 22 in an hour in red ball cricket. https://t.co/J7PIiIbzlI
— Abhishek Baxi (@baxiabhishek) August 12, 2022
Are you sure it's not the highlights of his entire innings ? 😅
— Andrew (@AndrewAmsan) August 13, 2022
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