No, this is not a clickbait article with a twist towards the end. As cricket fans, we can say without a second thought that now we have seen everything. Cheteshwar Pujara has a T20 century to his name. Yes, you read that right. And it is not some unofficial T20 cricket game that we are talking about. Pujara achieved this feat in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match between Railways and Saurashtra.
The Saurashtra batsman did not take a truckload of deliveries to score his century. He reached the 100-run mark off just 61 balls scoring at an astonishing strike rate of 163.93. His innings had 14 fours and 1 six. Quite surreal, isn’t it?
Maybe Pujara channelled the frustration of getting ignored by franchises in Indian Premier League (IPL) auctions year after year. The image of a pure Test player hasn’t worked out for the 31-year-old as he played his last IPL in 2014. He has represented Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in past.
In IPL 12 auctions, he even reduced his base price to Rs 50 lakh but franchises did not seem interested. Maybe this innings will have an impact and franchises will be willing to give the veteran a second chance to have a crack at mainstream T20 cricket. Or maybe a mid-season injury will pave the way for a slot among the eight franchises.
Pujara's first-ever T20 century!https://t.co/ox0IOugSl5
— Faizal Khan (@faizalkhanm9) February 22, 2019
Here’s how Twitter tried to digest the fact that we live in the same world where Pujara has a T20 century:
Pujara scored a 100 in T20 for saurashtra!! I’ve seen it all now!! pic.twitter.com/zMgXz6OHYn
— Jaydeep Rathva (@Jaydeep_79) February 21, 2019
Pujara Gets 100 In 61 balls
.
.
Fans:- pic.twitter.com/cmuDVrD0A0— Vinay (@CRICKET_PREMI_) February 21, 2019
Why didn’t I think of that?
Never though there would be a day when Cheteshwar Pujara’s century would be faster than Jason Roy’s. #SyedMushtaqAliTrophy #WIvENG
— Akhil Nair (@akhiln) February 21, 2019
Traits of a versatile player explained in statistics
Indians with a 300+ in First-class, 150+ in List A cricket & 100 in Twenty20s:
Virender Sehwag
Rohit Sharma
Mayank Agarwal
CHETESHWAR PUJARAOnly Mayank and Pujara have FC 300, List A 150, T20 100 in Indian domestic tournaments. #MushtaqAliT20 #RLWvSAU
— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) February 21, 2019
And, he did
In an extensive interview to TOI sports, Cheteshwar Pujara had said he had many things still to show the world and one was the perception that he cannot succeed in white-ball cricket. Guess scoring a 61-ball ton for Saurashtra in the Mushtaq Ali t20 is a start of that. #pujara
— Nitin Naik (@toi_nitinnayak) February 21, 2019
Basically, everyone’s reaction
.@cheteshwar1 has smashed a 61-ball hundred in #SyedMushtaqAliTrophy.
Yes, you have read that right.
— Abhishek Mukherjee (@ovshake42) February 21, 2019
Anyone?
Making a statement. @IPL anyone looking for a PURE Batsman? #Pujara #IPL2019 https://t.co/4oeN8OYRPe
— Yash Pathak (@imyashpathak) February 21, 2019
Ticking all the right boxes
As if his 61-ball 100 wasn’t enough, Pujara has brought Saurashtra back in the game with a direct hit from the edge of the circle #MushtaqAliT20 @sportstarweb
— Amol Karhadkar (@karhacter) February 21, 2019
When #Pujara scored a 61 ball for #saurashtra against #railways pic.twitter.com/MIlLGteP83
— Devakumar kp (@imdevskp) February 21, 2019
He also proved that a Test cricketer can adapt to any format of the game and apply his sound technique to excel. However, his ton went in vain as Railways chased down the target of 189 with two balls to go.
P.S. Cheteshwar Pujara is the first Saurashtra batsman to score a T20 century in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
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