Cheteshwar Pujara scored 117* off 113 balls© Twitter
Veteran India batter Cheteshwar Pujara roared back to form on Saturday after he successfully guided Sussex to a comfortable four-wicket victory over Somerset in an One Day Cup game. Pujara played a an unbeaten knock of 117 off 113 balls and took Sussex across the line with 11 balls in hand. The 35-year-old batter was dropped from the national side after India’s debacle in the World Test Championship final against Australia in June. However, Pujara continued to show his batting prowess in List A cricket.
After the victory against Somerset, Pujara stated that he is still there in India’s scheme of things and is hopeful of making a comeback into the national team.
“Look, I always try and control the things which I can. It’s always about getting as many runs as possible in whatever games I play. I am still in the scheme of things. So, I hope that the moment I start scoring more runs in first-class games, I will be back in the team. But I will try and be in present, try and take one game at a time,” said Pujara in an interview with Sussex Cricket.
The right-handed batter has been in his prime form for the better part of the last two County season for Sussex where he has scored in both first-class and List A games.
Coming to the match, Andrew Umeed (119) and Curtis Campher (101) added 163 runs as Somerset scored 318/6 in 50 overs on good batting strip.
While chasing, Pujara kept the scoreboard ticking at one end while adding 88 runs with Tom Alsop (60) and a few more short but useful stands that took them past the target.
Pujara’s sequence of scores in one day competition is 23 vs Durham, 106 not out vs Northamptonshire, 56 vs Derbyshire before this game.
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