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Published 16:14 IST, February 19th 2023

IND vs AUS: Cheteshwar Pujara hits the winning runs in his 100th Test for India - WATCH

Rohit Sharma (31) and Virat Kohli (20) were major contributors apart from Pujara, who scored an unbeaten 31 off 74 balls to help India win.

Reported by: Vishal Tiwari
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Image: bcci.tv | Image: self
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Veteran batsman Cheteshwar Pujara on Sunday hit the winning runs to help India win the second Test match against Australia in Delhi by 6 wickets. With India needing just 1 run to win the game, Pujara came down the track and smashed a boundary over the midwicket region to help seal the victory and go 2-0 up in the four-match series. This was Pujara's 100th Test match for his country. He became the 13th Indian to play the 100th Test for the nation. 

"It has been a great Test match. Unfortunately, I did not get enough runs in the first innings. It [scoring the winning runs in my 100th Test] is a special feeling and my family is still watching the game. We've won this game and it's the last boundary in a winning cause and we're still looking to win the next two matches. Oh lovely, congrats to all the guys (on his domestic side Saurashtra winning the Ranji Trophy). I was following the scores, but after lunch, I couldn't follow the scores. Great effort from the team," Pujara said after the match ended on Day 3. 

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"I thought we [India] might end up chasing 200-250, but the kind of lengths...Yesterday, it didn't go our way and we conceded too many runs in the last session. The way our bowlers did today was incredible. If you look at this pitch, it [the sweep] is not an ideal shot to play with low bounce, but I've worked on it. With my game, I use my feet well and try to judge length as early as possible. I've always done that throughout my career. Not really, it was the initial phase when you walk out to bat. Some balls spun and some went straighter. Once you play 30-40 balls, it's a good pitch to bat. Once the ball gets softer, it gets easier to bat on," he added.

India vs Australia

On Friday, during the match at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium, Australia won the toss and decided to bat first. They scored a total of 263 runs, with Peter Handscomb and Usman Khawaja each scoring a half-century. Mohammed Shami picked up four wickets, while Jadeja and Ashwin took three wickets apiece.

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India, in response, managed to put up only 262 runs on the scoreboard, with Axar Patel making a significant contribution of 74 runs.

During the second innings, India's bowlers performed brilliantly, as they dismissed Australia for just 113 runs. Jadeja took an impressive seven-wicket haul, and Ashwin picked up three wickets. Among the Australian batters, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne were the only ones to put up a decent score of 42 and 35 runs, respectively, while the rest of the team was dismissed for single-digit scores.

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In India's second innings, Rohit Sharma (31) and Virat Kohli (20) were major contributors apart from Pujara, who scored an unbeaten 31 off 74 balls to help India win by 6 wickets. Jadeja was named the player of the match for the second time in a row. 

Image: bcci.tv

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16:14 IST, February 19th 2023