Continuing from where he had left off in 2015, India No. 3 Cheteshwar Pujara helped himself to his second successive hundred in Tests in Sri Lanka on the opening day of the first game at the Galle International Stadium. (India vs Sri Lanka Updates)
Pujara reached his hundred by taking two runs, a push to midwicket off pacer Lahiru Kumara, and celebrated it with a four to the cover fence. His 100 came off 172 balls with eight fours. (India vs Sri Lanka Scorecard)
Mukund falls cheaply
After the early loss of opener Abhinav Mukund (12), Pujara formed a solid partnership with the aggressive opener Shikhar Dhawan (190). All focus and patience, Pujara proved an ideal foil to the attacking Dhawan. The two added 253 runs for the second wicket, an association Dhawan dominated, scoring 176 of those runs. However, Pujara was wise not to get carried away by the pace of his batting partner.
(Read | Shikhar Dhawan slams 190 to hand India the advantage vs Sri Lanka in Galle Test)
Without being flamboyant, the run-machine from Saurashtra kept finding the gaps with precise placements to keep the bowlers under pressure. The feature of his play was how he used his feet against the spinners.
{{/usCountry}}Without being flamboyant, the run-machine from Saurashtra kept finding the gaps with precise placements to keep the bowlers under pressure. The feature of his play was how he used his feet against the spinners.
{{/usCountry}}When Cheteshwar Pujara last came to Sri Lanka, his career was at the crossroads. The tour proved to be the turning point when injury to Dhawan and Murali Vijay provided him a chance in the deciding final Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo. Asked to open, he carried his bat (145 not out) on a green wicket to help India win the Test and clinch the series.
He has not looked back since and has been among the first names on the team sheet. This is his fifth hundred after the last Sri Lanka tour, and 12th overall.