The India cricket team will be without Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara for the first time in 98 Tests, with the last Test without featuring the duo being the Adelaide match of 2012.
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Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have not been picked for the two-Test series against Sri Lanka. The duo has been plagued by poor form for the last couple of years. Pujara has not hit a century for a couple of years while Rahane’s inconsistency has been the main factor in his omission. Although Rahane was the captain in India’s historic series win in Australia, their poor form in South Africa saw their omission from the Test side. Although it was sad to see their exit, it was on expected lines.
But, the omission of Rahane and Pujara from the Indian cricket team exposed a mind-blowing statistic. It will be the first time in 98 Tests or after 10 years that the India side will not feature either Rahane or Pujara. The last Test which did not see Rahane and Pujara together was the 2012 Adelaide Test against Australia. In that match, India was whitewashed 4-0 and the Adelaide match saw India lose by 298 runs. Incidentally, the Adelaide match was the last time Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman donned the international colors.
Following the loss in the series against Australia, Cheteshwar Pujara was made a permanent member after the retirement of Rahul Dravid. Rahane made his Test debut against Australia in the Delhi Test in 2013.
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Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have put on a fine show in the opening games of the Ranji Trophy. Rahane was the star with a brilliant 129 which included 17 fours and two sixes. He shared a 252-run stand with Sarfaraz Khan who blasted an amazing 275. The knock included 30 fours and seven sixes. In Saurashtra’s innings, Cheteshwar Pujara was dismissed for a four-ball duck in the first innings.
But, in the second innings, Pujara smashed 91 off 83 balls which included 16 fours and one six. The match ended in a draw, with Saurashtra ending on 372/9 declared. The selection of the Indian cricket team saw Ishant Sharma and Wriddhiman Saha dropped apart from Pujara and Rahane. India will play two Tests against Sri Lanka in Mohali and Bangalore.
The match in Mohali might be Virat Kohli’s 100th Test match. The game at the M Chinnaswamy stadium will be a Day-Night encounter. Sri Lanka has never won a series in India. In the last tour that they played in 2017, Sri Lanka lost the three-match Test series 1-0.
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