Image: Will the Australian team be able to settle into their comfort zone after Cheteshwar Pujara's departure? / © ESPNcricinfo
Batting at number three in the Test format has always been a daunting task, and the Indian team also suffers from a number three issue in its Test team. To add more to its wounds, Cheteshwar Pujara, who was the last classical Test batsman in the line-up, announced his retirement from all formats of the game.
After Rahul Dravid, Cheteshwar Pujara acted as the Wall for the Indian cricket team, as the opponent bowlers found it difficult to take his wicket or rattle his stumps. In his Test career, Pujara ended up scoring 7195 runs in 103 matches at an average of 43.60, with 19 centuries and 35 half-centuries. Whether the Indian team wants him to perform in Home Tests or SENA countries, he has been able to prove himself every time.
| Format | Matches | Innings | Runs | High Score | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 103 | 176 | 7195 | 206* | 43.60 | 44.36 | 19 | 35 |
| ODIs | 5 | 5 | 51 | 27 | 10.20 | 39.23 | 0 | 0 |
He made his Test debut during the 2010 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and ended up scoring 4 and 72 runs in his debut game. His final Test appearance for the Indian team came in the World Test Championship final 2023, which was also against Australia, where he scored 14 and 27 runs respectively.
Little did the fans know it would be his last game for the Indian cricket team, as Pujara didn’t receive more opportunities after the same. Besides all his stats in the Test format, he also holds some historic numbers against Australia. The news of his retirement came through his social media, where he informed the fans that he officially retires from all formats of the game.
Fans may call Virat Kohli the reason why India didn’t lose any Border-Gavaskar Trophy from 2015 to 2024. But only the real fans know how Cheteshwar Pujara became the unsung hero of the team during this phase. Let’s take a look at how Pujara dominated against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
During the 2017 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, it seemed that India might end up losing a Test series against Australia at home. But due to Pujara’s greatness, the team ended up winning the series by 2-1, despite losing the first game. Pujara was the top run scorer for India in this series, as he scored 405 runs in 7 innings at an average of 57.85.
| Test | First Innings | Second Innings |
|---|---|---|
| First Test | 6 | 31 |
| Second Test | 17 | 92 |
| Third Test | 202 | – |
| Fourth Test | 57 | 0 |
The first Test match was in favour of Australia, as the team ended up winning the game by an impressive margin of 333 runs. Pujara also failed to shine, scoring 6 runs in the first innings, followed by 31 runs in the second innings. But he was able to regain his form eventually in the second Test match.
India went on to win the next match of the series by 75 runs, which allowed them to level the series score. In the first innings, Pujara didn’t score well as he got out at the score of just 17. Fortunately, India was able to post a competitive total of 189 in the first innings, as Australia scored 276, taking a lead. Pujara scored 92 runs off 221 balls in the second innings, playing an important role in India’s win in this game.
The third match, which was set to be played in Ranchi, came as his best at home against Australia. Australia batted first in this game and ended up scoring 451 runs. India responded well by scoring 603/9 in the second innings, as Cheteshwar Pujara scored 202 runs off 525 balls. This innings also made Pujara the only Indian batsman to have played more than 500 balls in an innings.
Even in the final game, Cheteshwar Pujara ended up scoring a half-century in the first innings, which was followed by a duck during the chase. Still, India ended up winning the game by 8 wickets, which also helped the team to win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2017, despite losing the first game.
India secured a historic series win in Australia during the 2018/19 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The first match of this series was being played in Adelaide, where Pujara dominated with the bat, scoring 123 runs in the first innings and 71 in the second innings. This helped India to win by 31 runs, and Pujara received the POTM.
| Test | First Innings | Second Innings |
|---|---|---|
| First Test | 123 | 71 |
| Second Test | 24 | 4 |
| Third Test | 106 | 0 |
| Fourth Test | 193 | – |
Australia pulled off a comeback in the second Test, winning by 146 runs, which helped them level the series. In this match, Cheteshwar Pujara scored 24 off 103 in the first innings, which was followed by a score of just 4 runs in the second innings.
Moving to the third game, India had regained its form in both batting and bowling line-up. The team scored 443 runs in the first innings, which included a century by Cheteshwar Pujara, playing 319 balls. But in the second innings, he got out for a duck, as India scored 106/8 before declaring. The bowlers were able to put on a magnificent show to help India win this match by 137 runs.
In the fourth Test too, India ended up scoring 622 runs in the first innings, of which Pujara scored 193 runs off 373 balls with 22 fours. Although the match ended in a draw, India had won the series 2-1 for the first time in Australia. Cheteshwar Pujara got the POTS award for scoring 521 runs in the series.
Among all the Border-Gavaskar Trophies in which Cheteshwar Pujara participated for the Indian cricket team, it can be said that the 2020/21 series was a stellar one for him. The series started off with the first match being a pink-ball test at Adelaide, and this could have been the one that India might want to forget.
| Test | First Innings | Second Innings |
|---|---|---|
| First Test | 43 | 0 |
| Second Test | 17 | 3 |
| Third Test | 50 | 77 |
| Fourth Test | 25 | 56 |
The team got all out at the score of 36 in the second innings, allowing Australia to win the match by an impressive margin of 8 wickets. With this loss, India’s captain Virat Kohli ruled himself out for the remaining three games. In the first match also, Pujara managed to score 43 runs in the first innings, followed by a duck in the second innings.
During the second Test, India started to shine unexpectedly, with the young talents showcasing their performances. In this game, Pujara was not able to score well, as he scored 17 runs in the first innings followed by just 3 runs in the second innings. But, with Rahane’s brilliance, India went on to win the match by 8 wickets, levelling the series.
The third Test match was being played at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground, where Australia, at one point, seemed to be the clear favourites to win. However, Pujara had some other plans, as he scored 50 and 77 runs respectively in this game, playing an important role with the bat. With the contribution of Hanuma Vihari and Ashwin in the end, India was able to draw the match, putting it all for the final game at the Gabba.
India didn’t have a good start to the Gabba game, as the bowlers were bashed by the Australian team, who scored 369 runs. When India came down to bat, Cheteshwar Pujara scored 25 runs off 94 balls, as the team got bundled out at the score of 336, trailing by 33 runs. The bowlers were then able to put up a show by restricting Australia to just 294.
Now, India had to chase the target of 328, which the team successfully did with 3 wickets to spare. Although Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill had played some great innings, it was Cheteshwar Pujara who came as the unsung hero, scoring 56 runs off 211 balls in the chase. During the chase, he was hit 11 times by the Australian bowlers on his body. To this, he said that the soldiers take bullets for our country, so it is normal for him to take blows from the deliveries.
Cheteshwar Pujara was also a part of the Indian team in its last Test series win against Australia, which came in 2023. Fans didn’t know it would be his last Border-Gavaskar Trophy appearance for the Indian team before he announced his retirement. During the first Test match being played at Nagpur, India won by an innings and 132 runs, where Pujara just scored 7.
| Test | First Innings | Second Innings |
|---|---|---|
| First Test | 7 | – |
| Second Test | 0 | 31 |
| Third Test | 1 | 59 |
| Fourth Test | 42 | – |
India went on to secure its second win in the same series, which came in the next Test played at Arun Jaitley Stadium. Pujara got out for a duck in the first innings and went on to score 31 runs off 74 balls in the second innings, staying not out during the chase. As a result, India won the match by 6 wickets, and it was now impossible for Australia to win.
However, in the third Test, Australia staged a comeback to win the match by 9 wickets. Cheteshwar Pujara scored just one run in the first innings, but made a comeback to score 59 runs in the second innings for the team. Unfortunately, he didn’t receive the required support from the other end, which allowed Australia to finally get a win.
The last Test match for Cheteshwar Pujara in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023, ended in a draw for the team, as India once again lifted the trophy, winning the series 2-1. Pujara scored 42 runs off 121 balls in this game, ending his journey against Australia with his resilience and defensive style, as it was in his debut game.