Cheteshwar Pujara 18 runs away from moving ahead of Virat Kohli for TOP Indian record

The second Test between India and Australia went underway on Saturday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The Indian openers made their way into the middle late in the day after the hosts were shot out for 195 in their innings. Interestingly, India’s first innings provides batting barnacle Cheteshwar Pujara an ideal opportunity to dethrone his skipper Virat Kohli for a major Test batting record against Australia.

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India vs Australia 2nd Test: Cheteshwar Pujara on the verge of overtaking Virat Kohli

Cheteshwar Pujara was one of the architects of India’s landmark series win Down Under about two Australian summers ago. With Test skipper Virat Kohli taking a paternity leave after India’s horror show at Adelaide, the reins to hold team’s middle-order for the remainder of the series now falls upon Pujara. Kohli’s absence also makes Pujara an eligible candidate to enter an elite bracket of Indians with most Test runs against Australia.

As of now, Virat Kohli is fifth among most proficient Indian batsmen against Australia in Tests with 1,682 runs across 36 innings. Meanwhile, his batting compatriot Cheteshwar Pujara is placed just a rung below him with 1,665 runs from his 31 innings. When the Test specialist reaches 18, he will enter the top five of India’s most elite batsmen against Australia, joining the likes of yesteryear heroes Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag.

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Most runs by Indians vs Australia in Tests

Here is a look at a top six list of most runs by Indians vs Australia in Test cricket:

Sachin Tendulkar: 3,630 runs in 39 Tests

VVS Laxman: 2,434 runs in 29 Tests

Rahul Dravid: 2,143 runs in 32 Tests

Virender Sehwag: 1,738 runs in 22 Tests

Virat Kohli: 1,682 runs in 20 Tests

Cheteshwar Pujara: 1,665 runs in 17 Tests

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India vs Australia 2nd Test: India vs Australia live updates from Day 1

At stumps on Day 1, India reached 36-1 after 11 overs, trailing Australia’s first-innings total by another 159 runs. Shubman Gill, in his debut innings, raced to 28 from just 38 balls as he batted with aggression and intent after losing his opening partner Mayank Agarwal for a duck. Meanwhile, Cheteshwar Pujara kept his end of the crease safe with caution. He remains unbeaten on 7*, and will now need only 11 more runs to overtake Virat Kohli’s Test run tally against Australia.

India vs Australia live updates from Boxing Day Test

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