Ahead of WTC final, Cheteshwar Pujara goes big and scores a splendid ton for Sussex

Senior Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara, leading Sussex, scored a century in the first innings against Durham in the the County Championship Division Two here on Friday.

Pujara, who has been named captain for this season, brought up his ton in 134 balls by slamming back-to-back boundaries off Brydon Carse in the 55th over on the second day.

Walking to the middle when his team was at 44 for 2, Pujara scored 115 off 163 balls to cut short Durham's lead as he shared a vital 112-run partnership with Tom Clark.

Sussex had bowled out Durham for 376 in the first innings. He was eventually trapped leg before by medium pacer Ben Raine. Pujara, who is a vital member of the Indian team that will play the WTC final against Australia at The Oval in London in June, sent the ball to the fence 13 times and once over it during his innings. Last season, Pujara had scored five hundreds, and was the fourth highest run scorer in the Championship, accumulating 1094 runs in eight games.