Ranji Trophy: Cheteshwar Pujara Misses Out On Double Ton As Saurashtra Pile On The Runs vs Gujarat

Cheteshwar Pujara showed his magnificent form ahead of the Test series against Sri Lanka as he scored a brilliant 182 runs to put Saurashtra on top against Gujarat on the second day of the Ranji Trophy. Pujara, who scored a scintillating 204 against Jharkhand in the previous encounter, missed out on a successive double hundred. His 182 went a long way in Saurashtra piling up a mammoth 570 in their first innings against Gujarat on the second day of the match.

The 204 against Jharkhand made him the Indian batsman with most number of double hundreds (12) in first-class cricket surpassing the legendary late Vijay Merchant (11). Late Vijay Hazare (11 double tons), Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Dravid (10 each) are behind him now.

Starting the day at 115 not out, Pujara added 69 runs for the fifth wicket with Jaydev Shah (46) and 53 runs for the sixth wicket Prerak Mankad (62).

Pujara's 182 came off 313 balls with 24 boundaries and was finally bowled by left-arm spinner Siddharth Desai.

Prerak played a breezy knock striking seven fours and a six in 77 balls. It was Chirag Jani's unbeaten 46 that took Saurashtra past 550-run mark.

In reply, Gujarat were 45 for no loss.

Pujara had a fantastic outing against Sri Lanka few months back with scores of 153 and 133 in the first two Tests at Galle and Colombo.

With the first Test of the three-match series starting November 16 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, the Saurashtra batsman is expected to continue his rich form against the islanders.

(With PTI Inputs)