Royal London One-Day Cup: Cheteshwar Pujara slams 174 for Sussex
Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara has been on a roll in the ongoing Royal London One-Day Cup. The 35-year-old whacked 174 off 131 balls for Sussex against Surrey. During the scintillating knock, Pujara put up a 205-run stand with Tom Clark. Pujara's century came after he smashed a 79-ball 107 for Sussex against Warwickshire. Here are the key stats.
Why does this story matter?
Pujara has been on song in England's domestic cricket season. He finished as the second-highest run-scorer of the 2022 County Championship Division Two, having hammered over 1,000 runs. Pujara averaged a mind-boggling 109.40 and slammed five centuries. Pujara, a red-ball specialist, is faring well in the One-Day competition too. He has already registered three 50+ scores, including back-to-back centuries.
Pujara constructed his inning well
Pujara walked in to bat when Sussex was reduced to 9/2 in 3.2 overs. The Indian batter then added a double-century stand with Tom Clark. Pujara raced to his century off 103 balls before breaking the shackles. He smashed the next 74 runs off just 28 balls before departing in the 48th over. Pujara finished with 20 fours and 5 sixes.
Second-most runs in the tournament
Like the County Championship, Pujara presently has the second-most runs in the Royal London One-Day Cup. He has struck 367 runs from five matches at an incredible average of 91.75. His scores in the tournament read 174, 107, 14*, 63, and 9.
Pujara averages 55.95 in List A cricket
Pujara marked his List A debut while playing for the West Zone in the 2006 Deodhar Trophy. Since then, the Rajkot-born cricketer has compiled 4,812 runs in 108 fixtures. He averages a superb 55.95, with 13 hundreds and 30 fifties. Pujara's 174 against Surrey is now his highest score in the format. Overall, the right-handed batter has 69 tons in domestic cricket.
How have Sussex fared so far?
Sussex are currently seated third in the Group A table. They have mustered three wins and two losses in five matches played so far (NRR of +1.601). They lost their opening match against Nottinghamshire by 65 runs. They followed with emphatic wins over Gloucestershire and Leicestershire. However, the Pujara-led side fell short by four runs versus Warwickshire. Sussex then defeated Surrey by 216 runs.
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