Rated highly for his impeccable skills and unmatched determination - Cheteshwar Pujara is the backbone of Indian batting line-up when it comes to cricket's purest format. Since his debut in red ball cricket in 2010 versus Australia, the Rajkot-born batsman as grown leaps and bounds as his career progressed. With his outstanding technique and ability to bat for long hours without losing concentration, Pujara has been a thorn in the flesh of oppositions. With an impressive career average of more than 50 in Test cricket, Pujara is presently rated among the best number three batsmen in the world while playing in whites. Mostly compared with Rahul Dravid for his sheer sense of determination and will power to bat for long hours without breaking any sweat, Pujara has carved a niche for himself in the cricketing world. Despite being picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders in the first edition of Indian Premier League (2008), Pujara never managed to leave a mark in white ball cricket and largely due to his reputation as an exclusive Test player. After a forgettable tour to England in 2014/15, the right-handed batsman spent some extended sessions in English County cirucit with teams - Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire. Major teams: India, Derbyshire, India A, India Green, India Under-19s, Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Nottinghamshire, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Saurashtra, Saurashtra Under-16s, Saurashtra Under-19s, Yorkshire Playing role: Top-order batsman Batting style: Right-hand bat Bowling style: Legbreak
Read MoreHanuma Vihari made 101 off 182 balls before retiring, while Cheteshwar Pujara scored 93.
Ahead of the crucial game on Sunday, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Vijay Shankar and Wriddhiman Saha sent their best wishes to the youngsters through a video which was posted by BCCI.
ICC took part in the Facebook, Tinder, Instagram, LinkedIN challenge and posted photos of Steve Smith and Cheteshwar Pujara.
Team India's Test team mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara turned 32 on Saturday and was wished by a happy birthday by Sachin Tendulkar and his current teammates.
India's Test regular Cheteshwar Pujara turned 32 on Saturday, and cricketers took to Twitter to wish the batsman on his birthday.
Pujara, who on Saturday joined a select group of cricketing greats by smashing his 50th first-class century, is already the Indian player with most first class double centuries when he scored his 12th double ton in 2017 to go past Vijay Merchant.
Pujara said his 50th first-class century will boost his confidence ahead of India's upcoming Test tour of New Zealand, where he will need to "trust" his game.
However, Pujara stands fourth among active cricketers with most first-class centuries - Alastair Cook (65) stands atop followed by Hashim Amla (52) who will feature for Surrey in the upcoming season and Wasim Jaffer.
With 928 points, Kohli is way ahead of second-placed Australian maestro Steve Smith (911) and New Zealand's inspirational skipper Kane Williamson (822).
Uttar Pradesh thrashed Saurashtra by an innings and 72 runs, even as Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara failed miserably with the bat in the second innings of the Elite Group B match
Pujara was brought into the final over of day 3 of the Elite Group B match at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot. And into his second delivery, Pujara picked up a wicket of Mohit Jangra
Pujara, who boasts of a double century with the pink ball at the domestic level, became the first Indian to score a fifty in a Day/Night Test but failed to convert his 55 into a bigger score on Friday.
The pink ball will be used for the first time in India during the India-Bangladesh day/night match at Eden Gardens from November 22.
The 2016 edition of the Duleep Trophy was played with the Kookaburra pink ball and Pujara topped the run charts (453) with two hundreds, including a 256 not out for India Blue.
Pujara had complained about sighting the ball under lights in the 2016-17 domestic season but he claims to be better prepared now.
A total of 10 Indian players from the current squad have already played with the pink ball in a day-night first-class game.
Rabada did say a few words to Pujara after dismissing him for 58, perhaps letting a bit of his frustration out as he was unlucky not to get him out on zero due to a dropped catch.
Pujara has seen a lot of Agarwal in the domestic arena and believes it is the consistent scores in domestic cricket that has made him what he is today.
It took him 20 balls to get off the mark, hit his first boundary in his 42nd ball that he faced and at one point en route to his 21st Test half-century, he stood at 8 off 62.
South Africa ended up losing the first Test against India at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam by a heavy margin of 203 runs.
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