Cheteshwar Pujara wants to be first Indian to score ton in 100th Test

Cheteshwar Pujara. Pic/AFP

Cheteshwar ‘Chintu' Pujara, who will play his 100th Test at the Kotla today, has good reason to strive for a century in the second game of the 2022-23 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. If he does so, he will be the first Indian player to score a ton in his 100th Test.

When this correspondent informed Pujara on Thursday about no Indian reaching the three-figure mark in his landmark Test, he said: "I didn't know that. I shall try my best to get a hundred."

Meanwhile, Debu Mitra, the ex-Bengal cricketer, who guided Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja while coaching Saurashtra, is elated that Pujara is his second ward to reach the 100-Test mark, the first being Sourav Ganguly.

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"I am happy that two of my students have played more than a hundred Tests. What more can I ask for? Also, I am sure Jadeja will play 100 Test matches too. So far, he has figured in 61 Tests. I saw him at Nagpur, where he made a solid comeback. He looks rejuvenated I wish him and Pujara to do well consistently," Mitra remarked.