Pujara makes crucial No.3 position his with double-ton

Ahmedabad : Cheteshwar Pujara Friday ticked another box in the process of filling the key No. 3 position in India’s batting order, vacated by the great Rahul Dravid. Playing in only his sixth Test, Pujara hit his maiden double century (206 not out) against England in the first Test at Ahmedabad.

The 24-year-old has thus cemented his place at the highest level of the game, the big knock coming soon after his first hundred against New Zealand in August.

His next big test will be to perform overseas. He has already played two Tests in South Africa but not with much success, scoring 19, 10 and 2 in three innings.

The Rajkot-born cricketer has only played Test cricket and showed his brilliance in his debut game against Australia in 2010 when he scored 72 in the fourth innings chasing a successful victory target.

The Saurashtra batsman forced the selectors to take note of his heaps of runs on the domestic circuit. He has made 4,954 runs in 68 first-class appearances at 53.84. Pujara has an enviable record in List A with 2,735 runs in 61 games at 56.97.

He was one of the top run-getters for Saurashtra in the 2007-08 Ranji Trophy season, prompting Kolkata Knight Riders to sign him for the inaugural Indian Premier League edition.

The following year he smashed two triple hundreds for Saurashtra in an under-22 tournament and replicated the feat in the Ranji Trophy to make it three in a row in a month.

In his short career, he has already been sidelined by a serious knee injury, but he recovered well to stage an impressive comeback.