Senior India batsman Cheteshwar Pujara has been in thunderous batting form in the England summer this year. Playing for Sussex, Pujara has ransacked runs for funr in both the red-ball County Championship and the white-ball 50-over tournament, Royal London One-Day Cup.
On his little time off, the 34-year-old took to Twitter to interact with his fans in a Q&A session where he answered various kinds of questions. One particular question which inevitably came up was about his own favourite innings and Pujara’s answer got everyone talking and earned plenty of praise.
Cheteshwar Pujara reveals his favourite Test innings for India
“Which cricketing innings is your favourite till the date which you could never forget in your life? #AskCP,” one fan asked.
In his 96-Test career so far, Cheteshwar Pujara has raised 18 centuries, out of which 8 are away from home including three in Australia, and one in England and South Africa each, plus his epic, memorable, fighting fifties in Sydney and Brisbane last year.
However, for Pujara himself, it was his 92 in the second innings of the 2017 Bangalore Test against Australia which he rates as his favourite.
“92 against Australia at Bangalore in 2nd Innings in 2017,” the veteran batsman replied.
In that game, Australia had taken an 87-run first innings lead on a dustbowl of a surface. India knew even setting a target of 200 runs could prove enough with the spin bowling arsenal they had. However, they needed to wipe out the 87-run deficit first, which even looked big on that tricky, spin mamba surface.
Pujara batted defiantly in the second innings, scoring 92 runs from 221 balls, spending close to 5 hours in the middle. His 118-run stand with Ajinkya Rahane off 278 balls set up Australia the target of 188, which the visitors fell 75 runs short of as, expectedly, R Ashwin took a six-wicket haul and downed Australia to help India script a memorable, series-levelling victory.
Here, check out Cheteshwar Pujara’s response and the reactions to it:
92 against Australia at Bangalore in 2nd Innings in 2017 https://t.co/uXFopk42zp
— Cheteshwar Pujara (@cheteshwar1) August 24, 2022
Even former India batsman and now-commentator Aakash Chopra said it was his Pujara’s favourite knock.
“My personal favourite too. What a test match it was…uneven pitch. Conceding the first innings lead. Losing the first test. Uff. Once again, played Puji,” Chopra commented.
My personal favourite too. What a test match it was…uneven pitch. Conceding the first innings lead. Losing the first test. Uff. Once again, played Puji
https://t.co/j0HmlYymei
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) August 24, 2022
That last session partnership between Pujara and Rahane give India hopes back into the series
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) August 24, 2022
Rahane/Pujara partnership turned that series…
— 07sanjeewa (@07sanjeewa) August 24, 2022
What a knock this was, would put it as one of the finest over his few SENA 100s as well. One of the best innings sub-100 innings https://t.co/hnHuGhGK1N
— Udit (@udit_buch) August 25, 2022
That Pujara-Rahane LITERALLY saved the series for India. That too on such an uneven tricky pitch! And after conceding a sizeable lead.
Batting of the highest class right there.. https://t.co/ma2rKlV4Zf
— Transponster Jay (@Jay_KD77) August 25, 2022
Definitely one of my favourite Pujara Innings. The way we were down & needed this knock badly to get a score that we can defend in the last innings. https://t.co/SmHJYD021j
— Kartik O
(@KOCricket528) That was literally one of the best test matches ever played in india https://t.co/zHyeCCtEqO
— Abhishek। अभिषेक (@agnosticabhi) August 24, 2022
I am struggling to think of the last Indian batsman who picked a sub-hundred innings in India as his favourite. It is usually either a huge score in India or something from an innings abroad. This is a terrific choice from a terrific Test. https://t.co/5xJEfxzAu5
— Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) August 24, 2022
Pujara made his return to the Indian Test team during the Edgbaston Test last month vs England and scored a fifty, although it went in vain as India lost the Test.
However, with his form in England currently, Pujara has made a strong case for his inclusion in India’s next series – at home against Australia later in the year after the T20 World Cup.
