Pujara knocks on the doors of Indian team for England Tests with double ton

Cheteshwar Pujara hit his 17th First-Class double century, the most by any Indian batter. With his knock of 243* against Jharkhand in Ranji Trophy, veteran batter knocked on the doors of Indian team

Veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara knocked on the doors of the Indian team once again with a classic double hundred in the Ranji Trophy match against Jharkhand on Sunday, January 7, 2024. Pujara scored an unbeaten 243 to take Saurashtra to 578/4. They declared at that score in their first innings at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot.

With Shreyas Iyer not showing any sort of resilience in South Africa, Pujara has rightly knocked on the doors of the Indian team, though whether he will be preferred for a number five position is something to be doubted as he played at number three in his entire career.

Most First-Class Double-Hundreds by an Indian

Cheteshwar Pujara entered the elite list of players with 17 or more First-Class hundreds after his double century. He joined England’s Mark Ramprakash and Herbert Sutcliffe as batters with 17 double centuries. In the format, only Donald Bradman, Wally Hammond, and Patsy Hendren have more double centuries than Pujara.

With this hundred, Pujara now has 61 First-Class hundreds and is only behind Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, and Rahul Dravid among Indian players with the most First-Class centuries.

Player	Country	First-Class Doube Centuries
Don Bradman	Australia	37
Wally Hammond	England	36
Patsy Hendren	England	22
Cheteshwar Pujara	India	17
Mark Ramprakash	England	17
Herbert Sutclife	England	17

Second Most Double Centuries in the Ranji Trophy

Pujara, who had scored seven double centuries before this one in the Ranji Trophy, is now behind Paras Dogra’s mark of nine double centuries by just one double-ton. Dogra is also playing in the Ranji Trophy 2023-24, representing Puducherry.

Where has Pujara Scored his First-Class Double Centuries?

The 35-year-old Pujara has played 257 First-Class games, 103 of which are Test matches. But in Tests, he only has three double centuries. In the Ranji Trophy, he has eight, playing for Saurashtra in 73 matches. In the County Championship, he has three playing for Sussex, Derbyshire, and Yorkshire in 37 matches. In the Duleep Trophy, playing for West Zone, he scored one double-century in 15 matches. In 22 matches, that he played for India A and the Board President XI, he scored two double centuries. 

Tournamnet	Matches	Double Century
Ranji Trophy	73	8
County Championship	37	3
International Tests	103	3
Duleep Trophy	15	1
India A and Board President XI teams	25	2