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Watch: Cheteshwar Pujara turns leg-spinner; rolls his arm over for Sussex in County Championships
The 34-year-old India star turned spinner for Sussex as he bowled leg-break in the County Championships match against Leicestershire.
Cheteshwar Pujara has been in fine form in his stint with Sussex in the County Championships Division 2, having played 5 matches and maintaining an average of 120, piling on the runs for the team based in Hove, England. It was a run of form which saw him being recalled to the Indian Test team after having been dropped earlier this year — but in an interesting turn of events, Pujara not only batted for the Sussex side, but also bowled an over of his leg-spin to boot.
Facing off against Leicestershire in their division 2 match-up, Pujara was brought on to bowl a solitary over late on day 3, turning his arm over after a long day with the ball for the county team’s primary bowlers. Sussex’s social media handles uploaded a video of the over, which went for eight runs, with Wiaan Mulder taking advantage of a long hop down leg-side.
Watch:
Pujara has bowled an over in international Test cricket before, in the fourth Test against South Africa which is famous for the partnership between AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla on a rank turner in Delhi. Interestingly, it was an innings which saw overs from Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, and Virat Kohli as well.
The spell with Sussex has been significant for Pujara, earning him a spot for the Edgbaston Test against England earlier this month. Pujara delivered, scoring 66 in the second innings on his return, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a new-look England from winning the match.
Pujara was brought on to bowl with Sussex struggling to find any purchase against the Leicestershire batters: the visiting team ended day 3 on 529/4, still behind the hosts by 59 runs, with three centurions including South African Mulder in the innings as well as Rishi Patel dismissed on 99.
In his batting innings, Pujara had scored 46 as Sussex piled on the runs. With Leicestershire dominant at the crease, Pujara might be asked to bowl more part-time spin before the match comes to a close. Whether his part-time leg breaks might be used more by India in the future remains to be seen.
