Cheteshwar Pujara, one of the best batters of his generation in the longest format of the game, has announced retirement from all forms of Indian cricket in an emotional post on social media, bringing
an end to an illustrious career on Sunday, August 24. The 37-year-old had his last international match over two years ago, which happened against Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) final 2023 at The Oval in London.
During his time as an Indian player, Cheteshwar Pujara made a name for himself with his astute defensive batting technique, which was coupled with great temperament, incredible patience, tons of determination, and the will to succeed against all odds. Pujara got widely recognised as the second coming of Indian legend Rahul Dravid, on whom he moulded his Test batting career, becoming a brick wall for the national side just like “The Wall” himself.
In this article, SportsTiger looks at the five best Test knocks of Cheteshwar Pujara, which solidified his status amongst some of the all-time great batters of his generation.
List of 5 best Test knocks of Chesteshwar Pujara
145* vs Sri Lanka, Colombo-SSC (2015)
In the third and deciding Test of the three-match series in 2015, Cheteshwar Pujara was given the task to open the batting for India in the absence of the recognised opener at the Sinhalse Sports Club Ground in Colombo. With the conditions helping the fast bowler, a rarity in Sri Lanka, Pujara stood up to the challenge, scoring an unbeaten 145 off 289 with 14 fours to carry his bat - the seventh Test hundred - which ultimately led to India’s Test and series win over the hosts.
56 vs Australia, Brisbane (2021)
With the four-match Test series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) levelled at 1-1 in 2021, India were given a steep target of 328 runs to chase in the fourth Test at the Gabba in Brisbane, where Australia weren’t beaten for around three decades. Chestehwar Pujara had to endure a lot of body blows in pursuit of the runs on an uneven fifth day pitch, but he managed to bat for more than five hours to score 56 off 211, to set up the Test and series win against Australia.
132* vs England, Southampton (2018)
The fourth Test of the five-match series against England for the Pataudi Trophy in 2018 saw Cheteshwar Pujara score an unbeaten 132 off 257 with 16 fours against a top-quality bowling attack in some of the toughest batting conditions in recent memory. While the 15th Test hundred from Pujara was a masterclass in batting with the lower order at the Rose Bowl in Southampton, it wasn’t enough for India as they lost the match and the series.
153 vs South Africa, Johannesburg (2013)
In the first major challenge for the Indian batting lineup after the retirement of Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, they stood up with Cheteshwar Pujara being in the forefront in the first Test of the two-match series against South Africa at the Wanderers in Johannesburg in 2013. Pujara put together one of the most fluent knocks of his international career - the sixth Test hundred - ending up with 153 runs in just 270 balls with 21 fours against a famed South African pace attack in a contest which ended in a draw.
204 vs Australia, Hyderabad (2013)
The second Test of the four-match series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at home in 2013 saw Cheteshwar Pujara get to his second double hundred in Test cricket after batting for more than seven hours. He scored 204 runs in just 341 balls with 30 fours and one six, putting together a masterclass of batting against spin bowling, to set up a dominating Test win for India over Australia at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
Also, special mention to Cheteshwar Pujara’s 202 off 525 with 21 fours against Australia at JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi in 2017, making him the only Indian batter to face more than 500 balls in a Test innings.
