India's Cheteshwar Pujara earned praise from all quarters after he scored a century — his 17th in Test matches — in the ongoing third Test against Australia at Melbourne on Thursday.
Resuming on 68, it took 280 balls for Pujara to get to the three-figure mark for the second time in an away series. He scored 123 the first Test at Adelaide.
It is the slowest of his 17 centuries. Pujara has also scored more runs and faced more balls than any other batsman in the series.
Pujara stitched valuable partnerships — 83 with Mayank Agarwal for the second wicket and more than 150 runs for the third wicket with Virat Kohli — and kept the Australian bowlers at bay for more than two sessions.
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Pujara had an interesting duel with spinner Nathan Lyon as the batsman foxed all plans immaculately. He used his feet to Lyon at every available opportunity and at one point came down the track to the pitch of the ball five times in an over.
Pujara rotated the strike well and with a well-set Kohli at the other end, the pressure was eased on the Indian No. 3 batsman.
Here are some reactions after Pujara's century.
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