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Ranji Trophy: Cheteshwar Pujara smashes 83-ball 91 for Saurashtra against Mumbai

Pujara played freely and without any hesitation on the final day of the match, finding the fence at will while maintaining a strike rate of over 100.

By Nilavro Ghosh | Feb 20, 2022 | 2 Min Read

Cheteshwar Pujara scored an uncharacteristic 83-ball 91 for Saurashtra in their Ranji Trophy match against Mumbai in Ahmedabad on Sunday, less than 24 hours after being dropped from the India Test squad. On the fourth and final day of the Elite Group D match, Saurahtra made 372 for nine in their second innings, resulting in a draw. When the stumps were drawn, Saurashtra were only 48 runs ahead, but Mumbai couldn’t go for an outright victory due to a lack of time.

As a result, the record 41-time champions were awarded three points for taking the lead in the first inning, while defending champions Saurashtra were awarded one. Shams Mulani added to his four wickets in the Saurashtra first innings by returning career-best figures of 7/114 with his slow left-arm spin. After an inconsistent run, senior batters Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane were dropped from the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, which begins March 4 in Mohali.

Over the last year, Pujara has only scored 602 runs at a strike rate of 24.08 in 14 Tests. Even though Rahane made a century, the batter, who last scored a Test century during the 2018-19 tour of Australia, was dismissed for a duck in the first innings of this match.

No fear

Pujara played freely and without any hesitation on the final day of the match, finding the fence at will while maintaining a strike rate of over 100, which is unusual for the Rajkot native, who is known for his solid defensive game. During his time in the middle, the veteran hit 16 fours and a six. Snell Patel (98), the wicketkeeper-opener, came within two runs of a century when he was caught by Shams Mulani off the bowling of experienced seamer Dhawal Kulkarni.

Harvik Desai, Patel’s opener, scored 62 runs as the pair added 163 runs for the first wicket in a much-improved batting effort. Pujara and Vishvaraj Jadeja added 101 runs for the fourth wicket, with Vishvaraj Jadeja contributing only 16. Mumbai declared at 544 for seven in their first innings and then bowled Saurashtra out for 220 to force a follow-on.