Cheteshwar Pujara Joins Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid in Elite List

Cheteshwar Pujara came back to the Test squad in grand style by registering his seventh Test century. After spending some time out of the Test squad, this knock is a welcome return to form for him. His unbeaten 145 in the first innings of the third Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Sunday not only helped India to 312 all out but has also put him in an illustrious list. (Pujara Hundred A Pleasant Headache for Selectors: Gavaskar)

Pujara became only the fourth Indian batsmen in Test history to carry his bat through the innings. He joined Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid as the other batsmen to have achieved this feat. In all, with the inclusion of Pujara, only 49 players have carried the bat in 2179 Tests.

Gavaskar became the first Indian to carry his bat through the innings when he smashed an unbeaten 127 in the second innings of the third Test against Pakistan in Faisalabad in January 1983. Although India lost the match by 10 wickets, Gavaskar had created history.

Sehwag became the second Indian to achieve this feat 25 years later when he remained unbeaten on 201 during the second Test against Sri Lanka at Galle in August 2008. Sehwag had contributed 61 percent of his team's total of 329 and his knock helped India register a 10-wicket win. Dravid joined the list during the fourth Test against England at The Oval in 2011 when he scored an unbeaten 146.

Thanks to this knock, Pujara's average in the sub-continent now stands at 83.76 and his Test average has once again nudged over 50. He will be hoping that this knock helps him cement his place in the squad ahead of tougher assignments in the coming months.