Live Score
Cricket Teams
Cricket Players
Ranji Trophy final: Unwell Cheteshwar Pujara fails to continue batting
Cheteshwar Pujara pushed himself down to No.6 from his usual No.3 position after Saurashtra elected to bat first.
India Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, joining state side Saurashtra for the Ranji Trophy final against Bengal, could not continue batting on Day 1 of the five-day contest as he was feeling unwell.
Pujara pushed himself down to No.6 from his usual No.3 position after Saurashtra elected to bat first. The Jaydev Unadkat-led side were 182/4 when Pujara walked out to bat and was looking solid on five from 24 balls.
READ: Revamped selection committee makes stance clear on MS Dhoni’s future
But as his stay at the crease progressed, the 32-year-old looked uneasy and under the weather before eventually failing to continue out in the middle.
Just back from New Zealand where India lost the Test series 2-0, Pujara walked back to the dressing room looking dazed.
It was a blow for the home team who were struggling after the in-form Bengal pacers came back to take four wickets in the second and third session to blunt Saurashtra’s good start.
READ: ‘Verma ji ki beti’ does Rohtak proud
Saurashtra beat Gujarat in a tense semi-final to reach here while Bengal stunned Karnataka in the last-four clash.
While Saurashtra reached their fourth final in eight seasons, Bengal have not won the competition since 1989-90 when their head coach Arun Lal was part of the team.
