Cheteshwar Pujara scored his second century and 17th run in first-class cricket in the opening match of the Ranji Trophy 2023-24 season against Jharkhand. Pujara, who batted at 157 overnight, crossed the 200 mark in the first session of the third day and remained unbeaten with a batting average of 243 after lunch. Saurashtra had a huge lead of 436 on 578/4.
Pujara is currently level on points with Herbert Sutcliffe. Mark Ramprakash achieved 17 first-class doubles, finishing second overall to Don Bradman (37), Wally Hammond (36), and Patsy Hendren (22). This is Pujara's eighth double hundred in the Ranji Trophy and this ranks him second in the rankings after Paras Dogra's nine. Pujara has also scored three first-class triple centuries, the last of which came against West Indies A in October 2013. Pujara hopes his latest double will qualify him for the five-match Test series against England starting January 25 in Hyderabad.
Pujara last played a Test in June in the WTC final against Australia at The Oval, where he scored 14 and 27 as India lost by 209 runs. India then played a two-match Test series in the West Indies in July 2023 and more recently in South Africa. Shubman Gill dropped to number three in all these Tests, with Yashasvi Jaiswal leading the batting order. Pujara, on the other hand, has represented Sussex in county cricket, the Irani Cup (an annual first-class match between Ranji Trophy winners and all of India), and the over-50s Vijay Hazare Trophy. So far, he has not left any notable results. He is likely to play at least one more match, the Ranji match at home against Haryana from January 12-15, before the India squad for England Tests is announced. Saurashtra's third match will be against Vidarbha from January 19 to 22.
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