Cheteshwar Pujara silences critics with exquisite double hundred in Sussex debut; Watch

Team India Test specialist Chesteshwar Pujara put an end to his string of low scores in longest format of game by scoring a ton in county championship for a Sussex cricket club. In Derbyshire vs Sussex division, in two matches  Indian cricketer scored his maiden ton for his county club, before converting it into a double-ton after making a low score of 6(15) in first innings. 

County Championship: Cheteshwar Pujara Sussex century

Derbyshire declared ir first innings at 505/8 in 133 overs, with Shan Masood scoring a double century and Wayne Madsen scoring a century. Sussex's batting lineup was folded for 174 runs in 56.3 overs in ir first innings, with Derbyshire deciding to enforce follow-on. 

After first innings disaster, Sussex bounced back to put up a strong show in second innings as y ended final day with 513 runs on board, losing just three wickets. Cheteshwar Pujara Sussex ton (201*) came off just 387 balls and had 23 boundaries. He was well-supported by his skipper Tom Haines, who also scored a double century, finishing with 243 runs in 491 balls. Both Pujara and Haines shared a partnership of 351 runs which helped ir side to get back into game.

Cricket news: Cheteshwar Pujara's county stint and story so far

Sussex is t first team that Cheteshwar Pujara is representing in county cricket. Indian cricketer has previously represented teams Derbyshire, Yorkshire and ttinghamshire in past. Speaking about century last time Pujara scored a ton was for Saurashtra back in January 2020 in Ranji Trophy against Karnataka. His last Test century came in year 2019 when India faced Australia in Sydney.

Speaking about recent performances, Pujara has t reached three-figure mark since January 2019. Under pressure going into South Africa tour, he was dropped after scores of 0, 16, 3, 53, 43 and 9 in series which India lost 1-2. 34-year-old along with Ajinkya Rahane was left out for two-Test home series against Sri Lanka before ongoing Indian Premier League. A string of good performances during county matches for Sussex will help Cheteshwar Pujara in presenting a strong case for recall in Indian Test team for one-off Test in England against host. India was leading five-match Test series 2-1 last year before it was called off due to COVID issue.