He played 103 Tests and five ODIs for India
India’s arguably the most classic batter in the current era, Cheteshwar Pujara, has announced retirement from all formats of cricket via a social media post on Sunday, August 24. The announcement came after his snub from the Duleep Trophy 2025, dimming his hopes for an India comeback.
The 37-year-old played 103 Tests and five ODIs for India. He received his maiden Test cap in 2010, against Australia in Bengaluru. The right-hand batter succeeded former India captain Rahul Dravid at the No.3 position in Tests and enjoyed success at home and overseas. He ended his career with 7,195 runs at an impressive average of 43.60, most of them coming from the same position. Pujara last played for India in June 2023 during the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia in England.
Let’s have a look at his top five best knocks in Test cricket.
This knock from Cheteshwar Pujara in the 2018-19 series stands tall, considering the situation and the conditions for the batters. India were off to a disastrous start, reeling at 41/4 with KL Rahul, Murali Vijay, captain Virat Kohli, and Ajinkya Rahane returning to the dugout. Rohit Sharma stitched a fifty partnership with Pujara, but India was soon struggling at 86/5. The right-hand batter built small partnerships with Rishabh Pant and Ravichandran Ashwin to kickstart a fightback against one of the best bowling attacks.
Pujara displayed a much more positive approach and batted patiently, scoring 123 runs off 246 balls, spending six hours and 16 minutes on the crease. His innings was laced with seven fours and a couple of sixes. His knock helped post 250, while India wreaked havoc and bowled out Australia for 235 in the first innings. The Saurashtra batter amassed 71 runs off 204 balls in the second innings with nine fours. Eventually, India won the match by 31 runs, with no other batter crossing the 80-run mark. This marked India’s first Test win in Australia in a decade. Pujara scored two more hundreds in the series, setting the stage for India’s first-ever Test series win Down Under.
Batting in South Africa is arguably the toughest across all cricketing nations. The pitches in the Rainbow Nations offer seam alongside pace and bounce, making it tougher for the batters. His first visit to South Africa was nothing short of a bad dream. Facing the Proteas at their own den, Cheteshwar Pujara was determined to leave a mark.
The No.3 batter smashed an amazing second-innings hundred. He accumulated 153 off 270 balls with 21 fours against a bowling attack featuring greats Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel, Jacques Kallis, and Imran Tahir. Though the innings saw more centuries in the matches, coming from Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers, Pujara’s knock will be remembered as one of the finest ever by an Indian in South Africa. The match eventually ended in a draw after South Africa remained seven runs short of achieving the target at the end of the final day.
Cheteshwar Pujara in the Asian subcontinent was a different beast. His hundred in Colombo in 2015 spoke volumes about the kind of temperament, skills, and character he has. Struggling with poor form and playing a Test after eight months, Pujara was under immense pressure. Additionally, he was asked to open the innings as regular opener Murali Vijay was unavailable due to injury for the third Test. The 37-year-old responded with an exceptional hundred that eventually led India to clinch the series 2-1.
After being put to bat, India’s top order had no answers to Dhammika Prasad’s fiery spell. The Virat Kohli-led side was reduced to 119/5, with no all-rounders and bowlers to come. It was Pujara again who toiled hard to put India in a strong position. He received huge support from leg-spinner Amit Mishra, who scored 59 runs, stitching a 104-run partnership for the eighth wicket. Pujara scored 145 runs off 289 balls, including 14 fours, fighting hard for 456 minutes and carried his bat. Despite his resistance, India managed 312 on the board. The bowlers exploited the surface. Ishant Sharma took a five-for and Ashwin picked up a four-for to take India home. The visitors thrashed the Angelo Mathews-led side by 117 runs and registered their first away series win in four years.
Cheteshwar Pujara’s best weapon was tiring the bowlers with his quality defence and then collecting runs from loose deliveries by frustrated bowlers. His Test match defence masterclass was on display, where he scored the slowest double hundred by an Indian batter. Playing on Ranchi’s batting paradise, Australia posted a commendable 451-run total in the first innings, thanks to Steven Smith and Glenn Maxwell’s hundreds. India needed to score big and take a first-innings lead to keep themselves alive, as they needed to play in the fourth innings.
India fought back nicely, with Pujara scoring big and giving a rest to the bowlers, after 137.3 overs in the first inning. He then created history, facing 525 balls and spending 672 minutes on the crease. He scored 202 runs with 21 fours at a strike rate of 38.47. Pujara also became only the fourth batter to face over 500 balls against Australia. This led India to bat for a whopping 210 overs to score 603/9, opening a chance to bowl out Australia quickly. The match resulted in a draw, with Australia managing to hold the fort for 100 overs.
India entered the series decider of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2020-21 with the bowling attack of Mohammed Siraj, T Natarajan, Shardul Thakur, an injured Navdeep Saini, and Washington Sundar. At Gabba, Australia hadn’t lost for 32 years. On the other hand, India’s batting lineup was missing Hanuma Vihari, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja. India needed 300+ runs on the final day of the Test match, having already lost Rohit Sharma.
India came up with a plan that left many surprised, with Cheteshwar Pujara being the centre of it. Pujara kept batting for more than half of the day despite getting hit on the body numerous times and sledging from the Aussies. By the final hour, the bowlers had little left in the tank for a final push. India had two first-innings heroes to come out to bat in Sundar and Shardul. Under pressure, the right-hand batter scored 56 runs off 211 balls and spent 314 minutes with seven fours. His slow innings frustrated opposition bowlers while Pant took charge against them. The 37-year-old forged 114 runs with Shubman Gill and 61 runs with Pant. His resilience and Pant’s brilliant knock helped India register a historic win by three wickets.
