Cheteshwar Pujara continued to knock doors of national team selectors with another century in the Ranji Trophy 2024 on Saturday. The veteran Saurashtra batter recorded his third hundred of the season during the team's last group-stage match against Manipur on Day 2 in Rajkot.
Pujara surprisingly batted in the no.6 position after a dismissal of team captain Arpit Vasavada who scored 148 off 196 balls. Pujara and Prerak Mankad added 231 runs for the fifth with with both batters scoring centuries with strike rate above hundred.
Mankad top-scored with 173 off 173 balls while Pujara smashed 108 off just 105 balls with the help of 12 fours and one six. Saurashtra declared on 529/6, to take a mammoth 387-run lead in the first innings. Bowlers also shone on Day 2 to take three wickets as Manipur posted 55/3 in 28 overs before stumps.
Pujara, 36, last played a Test match for India in June 2023 but continued to impress in domestic cricket to attract the selector's attention. He is leading the scoring chart for the defending champions in Ranji Trophy 2024 with 781 runs in 11 innings at an average of 78.1 with three centuries and two fifties so far.
Meanwhile, the 41-time winners Mumbai registered a dominant win over Assam to conclude the group-stage campaign on Saturday. In-form Shivam Dube recorded an unbeaten century by smashing 121* off 140 balls but Mumbai were bowled out on just 272 in their first innings.
But with a 188-run lead in the first innings, Mumbai bowlers produced another sensational performance at Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy on Saturday. Shardul Thakur, who took six wickets in the first innings, bagged four wickets for 31 in the second innings as Assam were bowled out on just 108 to concede a huge defeat by an innings and 80 runs. Shardul claimed the Player of the Match award for his ten wickets in the match to end his poor run of form across formats.
