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