Pujara hits hundred for Sussex in first match of County Championship 2023 season

Cheteshwar Pujara hit a century on his full-time county captaincy debut for Sussex against Durham in the second division of the County Championship at Hove on Friday.

Cheteshwar Pujara of Sussex celebrates reaching his century on Friday. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Cheteshwar Pujara hit a century on his full-time county captaincy debut for Sussex against Durham in the second division of the County Championship at Hove on Friday.

Pujara, coming in at number four at 44 for two in the 10th over, motored his way through with 13 boundaries and one maximum to register a 133-ball hundred in the third session of the first innings on day 2. The century was Pujara’s 57th ton in First-Class cricket over a career spanning 246 matches. Pujara has amassed more than 18000 runs in the format with an average above 51.

He was dismissed on 115 by Ben Raine, who trapped him in front for lbw in the 67th over to reduce Sussex to 246/7.

When you think there's no possible way @cheteshwar1 could impress you more, he pulls out this shot

What a cricketer!#LVCountyChamp | @SussexCCCpic.twitter.com/g086CnHbSn

— LV= Insurance County Championship (@CountyChamp) April 7, 2023

This is Pujara’s second season with Sussex in the English First-Class tournament. In 2022, Pujara amassed a whopping 1094 runs in 13 innings at an average of 109.40, hitting five centuries after being dropped from the Indian Test squad.

He also played for the side in the Royal London One-Day Cup where he racked up 624 runs in nine innings with three centuries and two fifties.