Picture Credit: Twitter
India's batting stalwart Cheteshwar Pujara has been in sublime form in the ongoing County Championship season as the batter smashed his third double century of the season. Pujara reached his double ton on Day 2 of Sussex's Division Two match against Middlesex. Notably, the 34-year-old has already scored over 750 runs for the team this season.
Cheteshwar Pujara, who was given the responsibility to lead Sussex in the absence of their regular skipper Tom Haines, led from the front and stayed at the crease till the very end. Before getting dismissed the batter had already scored 231 runs off 403 balls. On the back of this prolific knock from Pujara, Sussex posted over 500 runs in their first innings.
The club shared the moment Cheteshwar Pujara reached his double ton. The right-handed batter nudged a flighted delivery from Middlesex's leg-spinner Holland towards midwicket for a single to register his third double ton. "@cheteshwar1 does it again," the club captioned the post.
He has been a natural leader since he joined: Ian Salisbury
Sussex head coach Ian Salisbury reacted to Cheteshwar Pujara taking over as the captain of the side after Tom Haines was ruled out of action for 5-6 months with a fracture in his hand. Salisbury praised Pujara for raising his hand when the team needed him and said that he has behaved like a leader since the day he joined the team.
"Puj was very keen to step up in the absence of Tom, he sees the potential in this side and has been a natural leader ever since he joined," said Salisbury. "Finny did a brilliant job for us after Tom was injured and will remain the senior figure among our bowlers," he added.
It's worth mentioning that Cheteshwar Pujara who had lost his place in the Indian Test team after a series of disappointing performances returned to County cricket to work on his temperament and technique. It worked wonders for the 34-year-old batter as he regained his place in the Test setup after putting on a show for Sussex. He also played the fifth rescheduled Test for India which the Jasprit Bumrah-led side lost.