Watch: Cheteshwar Pujara unleashes unbelievable shot during hundred in County Championship for Sussex
Cheteshwar Pujara made a stellar return to County Championship on Friday (April 7), starting the fresh season with Sussex via another superlative first-class hundred to his name.
The Indian batting stalwart, who looked in good form but missed out against Australia during the home season, made his Sussex comeback count with one more 100+ score.
It was the first round division 2 game against Durham at the County Ground in Hove where Pujara absolutely relished the good batting conditions against an opposition attack that offered him the opportunity to free his arms and play his strokes quite regularly.
The most pragmatic judge of the run-cushion behind a delivery, the stoic Indian Test match great danced on his chance and blazed a captain's knock for the Sussex side. Batting at No.4, he smashed a well-compiled 115 to help Sussex close in on Durham's imposing 376-run total by finishing the day at 332/9.
The Pujara upper-cut for the galleries
It was also Cheteshwar Pujara's sixth first-class hundred for Sussex since his great association with the club began last summer in England and among his fastest. Known for spending hours out in the middle, Pujara took just 163 deliveries to make his 115.
His comeback knock with Sussex witnessed 13 fours and a solitary six as played some of the best shorts in armoury: the cut, the flick, the characteristic falling-off pull shot and much more. But of all the shots that the Indian great executed, it was the one he upper cut for four that stood out.
WATCH: Deepak Hooda hits an amazing six over Bhuvneshwar Kumar's head
Facing Durham seamer Jonathan Bushnell's short and wide delivery outside off-stump, Pujara broke no sweat in tapping the ball over the wicketkeeper's head for another boundary in his innings. It has become a regular stroke in a T20-dominant calendar, but since this one involved the batter who symbolises the Test match grind, it made for an amusing motion picture.
When you think there’s no possible way @cheteshwar1 could impress you more, he pulls out this shot
— LV= Insurance County Championship (@CountyChamp) April 7, 2023
What a cricketer!#LVCountyChamp | @SussexCCC pic.twitter.com/g086CnHbSn
Even Pujara enjoyed playing it as he executed and gave away a little smirk before joining his batting partner for a brief chat ahead of the next ball.
The batter would've been delighted to have led Sussex's first-innings batting effort from the front, besides feeling chuffed on the personal front as he builds towards India's marquee World Test Championship (WTC) final in June against Australia.
Pujara acknowledged the role played by Sussex in resurrecting his India career last season when he was dropped in the aftermath of the losses in South Africa but was recalled after a tremendous run with the club ahead of the Edgbaston Test versus England.
Pujara on how joining Sussex last year helped resurrect his India career (@huwzat with the incisive questioning)
— Alan Gardner (@alanroderick) April 7, 2023
"Sussex has given me that opportunity and I'll never forget that" pic.twitter.com/vDeTZcBbuL
"Definitely," he said when asked after the day's play whether his Sussex association has helped with Test match duties. "If you look at the last season, I was out of the Test team, I needed some runs to get back into the team and I got the right platform here."
"There is nothing like playing for the Indian team but Sussex has given me that opportunity (to make the comeback) and I'll never forget that," added the grateful Indian No.3.