Cheteshwar Pujara breaks 70-year-old record with 12th first-class double century

Rajkot, Nov 3: In what could be understood as a good news for Team India ahead of the upcoming home Test series against Sri Lanka, Cheteshwar Pujara has regained his touch with the bat.

The top-order batsman from Saurashtra warmed up nicely for the upcoming Test series with a record 12th first-class double hundred against Jharkhand in a group B encounter of the Ranji Trophy.

Pujara surpassed legendary India batsman Vijay Merchant's record (11 double tons) as the Indian with most double hundreds in first-class cricket -- a record that stood for almost 70 years.

With 12 double-tons, Pujara also happens to be the only batsman to have smashed these many double centuries in the last 10 years in the first-class cricket. Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara is the second on the list with 7 double tons under his name.

Pujara scored 204 off 355 balls, including 28 boundaries in the process, was the cynosure of the Saurashtra innings as he batted for close to 9 and half hours (566 minutes) and was the ninth Saurashtra batsman to be dismissed.

The right-handed batsman along with Chirag Jani (108) added 210 runs for the seventh wicket to push Jharkhand bowlers to the wall. Their partnership ensured a huge first innings total of 553 for 9 for Saurashtra.

The knock came at a good time for Pujara, who had gone without a half-century in his last 10 first-class innings. At his home ground, where he has scored tons of runs, the India No 3 was back in his element, concentrating long and hard, punishing the loose deliveries and making a mockery of another domestic attack.

Pujara has regained his form after an ordinary show in the English county circuit, where his score from his eight innings was 34. Him regaining his form is crucial for Team India as they have a big and challenging season lined up ahead.

Team India will be touring South Africa for a challenging Test series against the Proteas which starts from the first week of January.