Stats: Cheteshwar Pujara breaks numerous records at SCG
Cheteshwar Pujara has grown to become one of the most significant players for India in Test cricket - the format that tests your determination, grit, perseverance, and patience. These qualities perfectly suit Pujara as a Test player. And his magnificent run in the ongoing Test series against Australia confirms the fact.
He kicked-off the Test series in style with an incredible Test hundred which reiterated the justification of his place in the side. The confidence grew as he hit his second century of the series at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground. Alongside Bumrah's exceptional bowling effort, it was Pujara's patient century at the MCG that helped India to go 2-1 up in the series, a state any team would desire to be in, especially on the foreign tours.
The Saurashtra batting great carried his legacy in the ongoing Sydney Test as well. Having won the toss at the SCG, India opted to bat first. However, in no time, KL Rahul was back in the dressing room and in came Pujara. After the arrival of the Gujarati batsman, it was all for him as Pujara started grinding the Australian bowlers only to find them frustrated.
Consequently, he brought up his fifty and was all set to play big. Much so, he didn't disappoint the fans as he brought up his third hundred of the series. He ended the Day 1 at the score of 130* and was in line to make the life hell for Australians on Day 2.
The story repeated today (day 2) as well. Cheteshwar soon breached the 150-run mark. Having achieved the 150-run mark, Pujara was in the zone to hit his yet another double century against Australia.
However, the fatigue and pressure took a toll on the batting stalwart as he handed a simple catch to Nathan Lyon off his delivery at the score of 193 while missing the well-deserved double hundred by a whisker. Nonetheless, his marathon knock of 193 has put India in a demanding position in the context of the Sydney Test.
Thus, let us have a look at the stats that came into the picture after his knock of 193.
Cheteshwar Pujara's Sydney ton in numbers:
2 - It is the only second time that Cheteshwar Pujara has lost his wicket in either the 90s or 190s.
3 - While hitting his Sydney ton, the Saurashtra stalwart brought his third century in Australia which made him the man with fifth-most centuries by an Indian in Australia. In the process, he surpassed the batting greats Virender Sehwag, Mohinder Amarnath, and Vijay Hazare in the list.
7 - The Sydney Test hundred was the seventh time in Pujara's career that he breached the 150-run mark. Moreover, he also went past Mohammad Azharuddin, VVS Laxman, and Dilip Vengsarkar in the list of most 150 plus scores in Test cricket.
18 - This was his 18th hundred in his Test career. While bringing up his 18th Test ton, Cheteshwar scaled two places in the list of most Test hundreds and bettered VVS Laxman (17) and Dilip Vengsarkar's (17) record of Test centuries.
548 - The number of minutes that Pujara batted while scoring his 18th Test hundred. It happened to be the fourth time, the third-most by an Indian batsman.
722 - With his Sydney Test century, Pujara now aggregates 722 runs in Australia which is the eighth-highest by an Indian batsman in Australia. He also went past Sourav Ganguly (696) in the process.
1258 - While bringing up his 18th Test century, Cheteshwar Pujara broke Rahul Dravid's record (1203 in the 2003-04 tour) of most balls faced by an Indian batsman in a Test series against Australia.