Duleep Trophy 2023: Pujara scores 77th First-Class fifty

Coming into bat at number three, Pujara scored his half-century off 103 balls with the help of five fours.

FILE PHOTO: Cheteshwar Pujara in action. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

West Zone batter Cheteshwar Pujara scores his 77th First-class half-century on day two of the semifinal of Duleep Trophy 2023 against Central Zone at the Alur Cricket Stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday.

Coming into bat at number three, Pujara scored his half-century off 103 balls with the help of five fours.

With West struggling at 40 for two, Pujara, along with Suryakumar Yadav, added 95 runs for the third wicket to stabilise the innings.

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Pujara, in the first innings, had scored 28 runs off 102 balls before he got out to Central captain Shivam Mavi.

The 35-year-old, who has played 103 Test matches for India, was ignored by the selectors for the upcoming two-match Test series against West Indies.

Pujara was part of the squad which played the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia at the Oval in June. He scored 14 & 27 in the two innings.