My dream is to win a WTC final for India: Cheteshwar Pujara

Veteran India batter Cheteshwar Pujara will accomplish a major milestone after playing in the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Delhi. The Second Test which is starting on Friday, February 17, will be his 100th Test match for India.

The right-handed batter has had a stellar 13-year-long career with the Indian team. The second Test is to be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, which will be the first Test in Delhi since December 2017.

Ahead of the second Test against Australia, Pujara said he never thought that he would manage to play 100 Test matches. He also said that he always tries to think about being in the present and never thinks too far. The 35-year-old cricketer, who made his Test debut in 2010, had gone through many ups and downs. Notably, he did not perform well in the series opener in Nagpur.

"When I started playing cricket and then made my (Test) debut, I never thought about playing hundred Test matches. For me, it is always about being in the present and not thinking too far ahead. So, for me, I thought before this series started and that's when I realized that I will be playing my hundredth Test match. In a career, you always go through ups and downs, and you have to fight through those periods," Pujara said in the pre-match press conference on Thursday as quoted by NDTV.

Winning the second Test will also help India to come closer to qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) final slated to be played in June. Pujara said that they will try to win the upcoming games and qualify for the WTC final. He also added that he always dreamt of winning a WTC final for India.

"There is a lot more to achieve. I am definitely satisfied and really excited to play this hundredth Test match. But at the same time, we are playing an important series. So, hopefully, we win this Test match and move on to win another Test match which will ensure we will qualify for the WTC final. My dream is to win a WTC final for the Indian team, which didn't happen in the last final. But hopefully, once we qualify, we move towards that," he said.

India will be coming with an unassailable 1-0 lead against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. They will try to retain their supremacy at any cost which they had in the opening Test. Playing his 100th Test, Pujara became only the 13th Indian player to reach the landmark. The most number of Test matches is played by Sachin Tendulkar (200 matches).

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