India vs Australia: 'Spirit of Cricket' - Australia gift signed jersey to Cheteshwar Pujara on his 100th Test

Add as a preferred source on Google

Australia on Sunday gifted a signed cricket jersey to Cheteshwar Pujara who completed his 100th Test in Delhi. In a picture shared by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Australian captain Pat Cummins can be seen presenting the signed jersey to Pujara in the Indian dressing room.

Notably, India have presented Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon with a signed jersey after the completion of the fourth Test in Gabba in 2021. The 35-year-old had completed his 100th Test during the historic Test match which India won by three wickets to seal the series 2-1.

Pujara became the 13th India player to feature in 100 or more Test matches with the start of the second Test match in Delhi which ended on Sunday. In the match, India bundled Australia out for 263 in the first innings before reeling at 139 for seven in reply. It was then that Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin forged a 114-run stand for the eight wicket. The gutsy innings from the duo helped India concede only a one-run lead.

Australia started with a bang in the second innings and ended Day 2 at 61/1 but the narrative changed rather quickly on Day 3 on Sunday. The visitors lost their last eight wickets for 28 runs as Ravindra Jadeja returned with figures of even for 42.

India chased down the 115-run target with six wickets in hand. Pujara was dismissed for a duck in the first innings, but he bounced back handsomely in the second innings, scoring 31 unbeaten runs and winning the match with a boundary over midwicket.

"It has been a great Test match. Unfortunately I did not get enough runs in the first innings. It [scoring the winning runs in my 100th Test] is a special feeling and my family is still watching the game. We've won this game and it's the last boundary in a winning cause and we're still looking to win the next two matches.I thought we [India] might end up chasing 200-250, but the kind of lengths...Yesterday, it didn't go our way and we conceded too many runs in the last session. The way our bowlers did today was incredible. If you look at this pitch, it [the sweep] is not an ideal shot to play with low bounce, but I've worked on it. With my game, I use my feet well and try to judge length as early as possible. I've always done that throughout my career. Not really, it was the initial phase when you walk out to bat. Some balls spun and some went straighter. Once you play 30-40 balls, it's a good pitch to bat. Once the ball gets softer, it gets easier to bat on," Pujara told Star Sports after the match.

Pujara congratulates his domestic team Saurashtra for winning Ranji Trophy 2022-23

Further, the 35-year-old batter congratulated his home side for beating Bengal by nine wickets in the final of Ranji Trophy 2022-23. This was Saurashtra's second title triumph in the Ranji Trophy in the last three seasons. Pujara played two matches for the champion side and scored 121 runs at an average of 40.33.

"Oh lovely, congrats to all the guys (on his domestic side Saurashtra winning the Ranji Trophy). I was following the scores, but after lunch I couldn't follow the scores. Great effort from the team."