A look at all the key numbers from Chetheshwar Pujara's professional career.
A CAREER IN NUMBERS
India's No. 3 Colossus: Pujara's appetite in numbers
Pujara is one of only three batters to bat all five days of a Test © Getty
7195 runs scored by Cheteshwar Pujara in Tests, making him one of the eight India batters to aggregate over 7000 runs in the format, after Sachin Tendulkar (15921), Rahul Dravid (13265), Sunil Gavaskar (10122), Virat Kohli (9230), VVS Laxman (8781), Virender Sehwag (8503) and Sourav Ganguly (7212). He is one of the 14 cricketers to have represented India in over 100 Tests (103).
6529 of Pujara's Test runs came at No.3, featuring 18 hundreds; only Rahul Dravid exceeded both those counts for India (10524 runs with 28 hundreds). Overall, only four other batters have aggregated 6000-plus runs from one-drop in Tests till date: Kumar Sangakkara (11679), Ricky Ponting (9904), Kane Williamson (8658) and Hashim Amla (7993).
18 - Pujara had a fine start to his Test career, and took just 18 innings to complete 1000 runs in the format, which remains the third-fastest for India after Vinod Kambli (14 innings) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (16 innings).
11- Pujara featured in India's 11 Test wins in SENA countries (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia), the most for anyone, followed by 10 each for Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah and KL Rahul. His standout performances in these games include match-winning hundreds in Adelaide and Melbourne on the 2018/19 Australia tour and gritty fifties in Johannesburg (2018) and in Brisbane (2020/21), among others.
525balls faced by Pujara during his 202 against Australia in Ranchi in 2017 is the most by an Indian batter in a Test innings, 30 balls clear of the next best. In fact, he is one of the only four batters to have faced 500-plus balls in a Test innings against Australia, alongside Wally Hammond (thrice), Len Hutton and Ken Barrington (where data is available).
Most balls faced in a Test innings (India)
| Player | Runs | Minutes | Balls faced | SR | Opposition | Venue, Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheteshwar Pujara | 202 | 672 | 525 | 38.47 | Australia | Ranchi, 2017 |
| Rahul Dravid | 270 | 740 | 495 | 54.54 | Pakistan | Rawalpindi, 2004 |
| Navjot Singh Sidhu | 201 | 673 | 491 | 40.93 | West Indies | Port of Spain, 1997 |
| Ravi Shastri | 206 | 572 | 477 | 43.18 | Australia | Sydney, 1992 |
| Sunil Gavaskar | 172 | 708 | 472 | 36.44 | England | Bengaluru, 1981 |
1258 balls faced by Pujara in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2018/19 in Australia, the second-most by an India batter in a four-match Test series, after 1336 by Rahul Dravid on the 2002 England tour. These two also account for the only two instances of an India No.3 scoring three (or more) hundreds in a Test series (home or away).
4 instances of an India opener carrying his bat through a completed innings in Tests, Pujara accounting for the most recent of those - an unbeaten 145* against Sri Lanka
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