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Cheteshwar Pujara becomes victim of jokes & memes after taking 53 balls to get off the mark

Cheteshwar Pujara frustrated the South African bowlers in the first session as he kept leaving balls which were bound to go outside the offstump line

Cheteshwar Pujara, one of India’s most dependable Test cricket batsmen, gave Twitterati a reason to make memes on him. The batsman took 53 balls to score a run during the ongoing third and the last Test match at New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on January 24.

The right-handed batsman is known for his defensive game. One does not expect Pujara to go all guns blazing. His strike rate has always been a talking point.

On Day 1 of the third Test, Pujara waved his bat to the crowd after he opened his run account on the 54th delivery of his innings. He also shared a light moment with Virat Kohli, who was batting with him at the other end.

Earlier, Virat Kohli won the toss and decided to bat first. India got off to a poor start as they lost their openers quickly. India were struggling when Pujara and skipper took the responsibility to stable the Indian innings.

Pujara took almost 90 minutes to score the first run off his bat. Had he played a few more balls he would have broken Rajesh Chauhan’s record of playing most number of balls before getting off the mark (for an Indian batsman).

Here are some of the reactions:

 

Most balls before the first run in Tests since 2001:

61 Stuart Broad, England vs New Zealand, 2013
53 Cheteshwar Pujara, India vs South Africa, 2018
52 Faf du Plessis, South Africa vs India, 2015
45 Hashim Amla, South Africa vs India, 2015

Meanwhile, India were 100/ 3 when this report was filed. Skipper Virat Kohli (54) was the third batsman who returned to the pavilion.

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