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Indian middle-order batter Cheteshwar Pujara completed 2,000 runs in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on Saturday, becoming the fourth Indian and overall sixth player to do so.
He accomplished this landmark during India's fourth and final Test against Australia at Ahmedabad. In the first innings of India, Pujara scored 42 runs off 121 balls. His knock consisted of three fours. By taking a double on a delivery bowled by spinner Matt Kuhnemann in the 27th over of India's first innings, Pujara completed his 2,000 runs in the history of this prestigious series between these two rivals. Currently, in 24 matches, Pujara has scored 2,033 runs at an average of 50.82 runs. He has scored a total of five centuries and 11 fifties in BGT history. His best individual score is 204. He is the only active player with 2,000 runs in the series, with Steve Smith (1,877) and Virat Kohli (1,852) being his nearest rivals. He made his international debut in 2010 during the 2010-11 edition of the series. He scored a match-winning 72* in the second Test of that series. The batter's peak performance in BGT came back in 2018-19 in Australia, where he topped the batting charts and won the 'Man of the Series' award. In four matches and seven innings, he scored 521 runs at an average of 74.42, with three centuries and a fifty. His best individual score was 193. In the 2020-21 edition of the series, which saw India making history and winning the series 2-1 after battling the absence of star batter Virat Kohli, poor performance in the first Test which saw them get all out for just 36, racism and injuries to key players, Pujara was one of India's brightest stars. In four matches and eight innings, he scored 271 runs at an average of 33.87, with three fifties and a best of 77. His best performance was a knock of 56 during the final Test at The Gabba in Brisbane, which saw him overcome a lot of body blows to steer his team to a win, which was Aussie's first Test loss at the venue since 1988. The highest run-scorer in the history of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. In 34 matches and 65 innings, he has scored 3,262 runs at an average of 56.24. He also has scored a total of nine tons and 16 fifties against Australia in the longer format, with the best score of 241*. He is followed by legends like Ricky Ponting (2,555), VVS Laxman (2,434), Rahul Dravid (2,143) and Michael Clarke (2,049). Coming to the match, a hard-hitting century from opener Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli's half-century helped India end the third day of play of the fourth and final Test against Australia at Ahmedabad on a high, with the scoreboard reading 289/3 at the end of the final session of day three on Saturday. At the end of the final session, Virat (59*) and Jadeja (16*) were unbeaten. However, India still has a mountain to climb as they trail by 191 runs in the match. Skipper Rohit Sharma (35) and Pujara also made valuable contributions. The spin trio of Nathan Lyon, Matthew Kuhnemann and Todd Murphy got a wicket each. Earlier in their first innings, Australia was bundled out for 480 runs. Centuries from Usman Khawaja (180) and all-rounder Cameron Green (114) helped the Aussies reach such a massive total. Ravichandran Ashwin was the pick of the bowlers for India, taking 6/91 on a surface offering no help to spinners. Brief Scores: India: 289/3 (Shubman Gill 128, Virat Kohli 59, Todd Murphy 1/45) trail Australia: 480 (Usman Khawaja 180, Cameron Green 114, Ravichandran Ashwin 6/91). (ANI)
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