SMA T20 2019: Cheteshwar Pujara proves his mettle in the shortest format with a scintillating ton for Saurashtra

India batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, known widely as a Test specialist, slammed his first T20 century on Thursday during Saurashtra’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy opener against Railways at the Holkar Stadium in Indore. In the process, he also became the first Saurashtra batsman to reach the three-figure mark in the shortest format of the game. Pujara scored a 61-ball unbeaten 100, which was laced with 14 boundaries and a six.

Among other records, the 30-year-old also became only the fourth Indian batsman after Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, and Mayank Agarwal to score a triple century in first-class cricket, 150-plus score in List A and a T20 century. Opening the batting for Saurashtra, Pujara stitched an 85-run stand with Harvik Desai after which Robin Uthappa played the second fiddle for him.

But his knock, which displayed that he is not just a Test specialist, came in a losing cause. Saurashtra posted 188 for 3 in 20 overs but Railways chased down the total with five wickets and two balls to spare.

Pujara has been overlooked by IPL franchise since the past five years

For the IPL auctions 2019, Cheteshwar Pujara had no takers, as has been the case for the past five years. He had made himself available at the auction for a base price of Rs 50 lakh but none of the franchises bid for him. Pujara last played IPL in 2014 and has scored 390 runs at a strike rate of 99.74 in 30 matches over five seasons.

“And I personally have no doubt about it that I can play white ball cricket and it is something where I can get a little more exposure, if I get more opportunity then things will change,” Pujara had told CricketNext after his heroics in Australia.

It remains to be seen if anyone makes a bid for him for the next season of IPL, but for now, Pujara will have to make peace with domestic T20 leagues.

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