It did not seem possible until it happened. In the second session of the second day, Australia actually managed to dismiss Cheteshwar Pujara in the fourth Test in Sydney on Friday, with the classy batsman falling seven runs short of a landmark double century.
The Indian No 3 resumed on 130 after completing his third century of the summer on Thursday and hardly played a false stroke before he was caught and bowled by spinner Nathan Lyon. It left India on 418 for six. Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja later put on a 200-plus partnership to pile the misery on Australia before Virat Kohli declared with the score reading 622/7 at the SCG.
It was a heartbreaking end for the stoic right-hander who just missed out on a fourth Test double century. His knock lasted a marathon 373 balls studded with 22 fours. He survived a review for caught behind on 12 and was dropped on 192 by Usman Khawaja from a difficult chance, but his innings was otherwise near-faultless.
Pujara came to the crease when opener KL Rahul was out for nine and, as he has done all series, quickly dug in, soaking up the pressure and counter-attacking when he saw an opportunity.
During the course of his marvellous innings that pretty much assured that India cannot lose this match, Pujara broke many a record.
Here’s a breakdown of the milestones Pujara crossed at SCG:
- Pujara set a new record for facing the most number of deliveries in a Test series by an Indian batsman in Australia, going past Rahul Dravid’s record in 2003-’04.
Most balls faced by an Indian in Australia
| Player | Matches (Inns) | Runs | Balls faced |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheteshwar Pujara India in Australia, 2018/19 | 4 (7) | 521 (74.42) | 1258 |
| Rahul Dravid India in Australia, 2003/04 | 4 (8) | 619 (123.80) | 1203 |
| Vijay Hazare India in Australia, 1947/48 | 5 (10) | 429 (47.66) | 1192 |
| Virat Kohli India in Australia, 2014/15 | 4 (8) | 692 (86.50) | 1093 |
| Sunil Gavaskar India in Australia, 1977/78 | 5 (9) | 450 (50.00) | 1032 |
Most balls faced in an away Test series (max. 4 Tests):
— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) January 4, 2019
1336 Dravid in Eng, 2002
1285 Cook in Ind, 2012-13
1245* PUJARA in Aus, 2018-19
1237 Sutcliffe in Aus, 1928-29#AusvInd
Pujara has now passed the 1235 deliveries faced by Desmond Haynes in 1988/89.
— The Cricket Prof. (@CricProf) January 4, 2019
In the last 47 years, only Alastair Cook has come to Australia and faced more deliveries than Pujara has done in this series. #AUSvIND https://t.co/s6LsE2H2do
Instances of Indian batsmen facing 300+ balls in a Test inns since 2017:
— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) January 4, 2019
Cheteshwar Pujara - 525 balls v Australia, Ranchi
Cheteshwar Pujara - 362 balls v Sri Lanka, Nagpur
Cheteshwar Pujara - 319 balls v Australia, MCG
Cheteshwar Pujara - 300* balls v Australia, SCG#AUSvIND
- Not just in terms of ball faced, in terms of minutes spent in the middle as well, Pujara set a new record for India in Australia.
Cheteshwar Pujara has batted 1868 minutes in this Test series so far; the third most by an Indian in a Test series.
— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) January 4, 2019
Only Sunil Gavaskar (1978 mins vs WI in 1971 and 1976 mins vs ENG in 1981/82) has batted longer in a Test series for India than Pujara. #AUSvIND
Batting over 500 minutes in a Test innings against Australia - twice!
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) January 4, 2019
Sunil Gavaskar (551, 513)
Sachin Tendulkar (613, 547)
Alastair Cook (634, 625)
Cheteshwar Pujara (672, 502*)#AusvInd#AusvsInd
- Pujara’s strategy for mental disintegration has been to bat time. Lots of it.
SCG 1st innings: 548 mins
MCG 1st innings: 481 mins
MCG 2nd innings: 5 mins
Perth 1st innings: 151 mins
Perth 2nd innings: 15 mins
Adelaide 1st innings: 376 mins
Adelaide 2nd innings: 293 mins
- Pujara became the third Indian batsman to score 500-plus runs in a series in Australia after Dravid and Kohli.
500-plus runs in a Test series in Australia for India:
— Umang Pabari (@UPStatsman) January 4, 2019
Rahul Dravid, 2003/04
Virat Kohli, 2014/15
Cheteshwar Pujara, 2018/19*#AUSvIND
Most runs in a series for India vs Australia:
— Deepu Narayanan (@deeputalks) January 4, 2019
692 V Kohli, 2014/15 (A)
619 R Dravid, 2003/04 (A)
518 G Vishwanath, 1979/80 (H)
503 VVS Laxman, 2000/01 (H)
501 C PUJARA, 2018/19 (A)*#AUSvIND
- An interesting aspect of Pujara’s runs in this series is how he has refrained from scoring through the cover, cover-point region. It tells you how well he has left the ball when it’s in the drive-able off-stump channel, a mark of great discipline.
- Pujara’s 193 was the fifth highest Test score by an Indian batsman in Australia.
Highest individual scores for India in Australia in Tests:
— Umang Pabari (@UPStatsman) January 4, 2019
241* - Sachin Tendulkar, SCG, 2004
233 - Rahul Dravid, Adelaide, 2003
206 - Ravi Shastri, SCG, 1992
195 - Virender Sehwag, MCG, 2003
193 - Cheteshwar Pujara, SCG, 2019*#AUSvsIND
- Pujara also established himself firmly as the best batsman of this series.
Pujara's average this series (84.83) is more than double Kohli's (40.28).
— Ben Jones (@benjonescricket) January 4, 2019
Pujara's dismissal rate (202.8) is more than double Kohli's (97.7).
Pujara's made his runs at a faster rate (2.5rpo) than Kohli (2.47rpo).
He's left the best batsman in the world in his dust.#AUSvIND