Cheteshwar Pujara struck his first List A fifty since 2018, scoring 63 in 71 balls in a 2022 One-Day Cup clash between Sussex and Gloucestershire.
India’s Test No.3, in Sussex’s opening game of the ongoing One-Day Cup against Nottinghamshire, took the field in a white-ball game for the first time in three years. He was named the captain of the side in the absence of regular captain Tom Haines, who is recovering from an injury.
Pujara did not have the greatest comeback to the format, scoring nine in 16 balls. However, he made his 30th List A half-century against Gloucestershire in the second match for the county.
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Walking in to bat at No.4, Pujara anchored the innings perfectly, reaching his fifty in 57 deliveries. His innings was laced with four boundaries and came at a strike rate of 88.73.
A first Sharks Royal London Cup half-century for @cheteshwar1. 💫 pic.twitter.com/pPv3ar93eZ
— Sussex Cricket (@SussexCCC) August 5, 2022
Before the game against Gloucestershire, Pujara had made 4,454 runs in 104 matches at an average of 53.66. Overall, he has the fourth-best List A average in the history of the game (min. 100 innings). But he couldn’t translate his domestic form into the International circuit.
The 34-year-old made his ODI debut in 2013, and played a total of five games, scoring 51 runs at an average of 10.20. His last ODI outing was in 2014.
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