Derby, April 17: After more than two years of dry run, Cheteshwar Pujara on Sunday roared back to form as he cracked his maiden first-class double hundred in a County Championship match for Sussex against Derbyshire. Pujara finished with an unbeaten 201 as the match ended in a draw. He batted for 467 minutes and faced 387 balls, hammering 23 boundaries. He raised a 351-run third wicket partnership with Sussex skipper Tom Haines. He had last scored a Test ton in January 2019 against Australia in Sydney and a hundred in a Ranji Trophy match for Saurashtra against Karnataka. The start to the county season for Pujara was also drab. He was dismissed for 6 as Sussex were bowled out for a paltry 174 in its first innings in response to Derbyshire’s 505 for eight declared. In the second innings, Pujara notched his 51st century or more in first-class cricket when he flicked through mid-wicket after facing 237 balls. Due to his poor form, Pujara, along with Ajinkya Rahane, was dropped from India’s Test team against Sri Lanka in February. He has been averaging 26.29 since the beginning of 2020 in Tests. Pujara’s performance in Ranji Trophy season of 2021-22 was pretty bad. He could manage just 191 runs in five innings at an average of 47.75, including a 91 against Mumbai. (UNI)
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