Cheteshwar Pujara flops as 17 wickets fall in Saurashtra-Maharashtra Ranji Trophy match

Cheteshwar Pujara failed to make an impact in Saurashtra’s Ranji Trophy match vs Maharashtra.

India skipper Rohit Sharma might have refused to shut the doors on Cheteshwar Pujara last month but the Saurashtra veteran did not help his cause by getting out cheaply in a Group A Ranji Trophy match against Maharashtra on Friday. Maharashtra were tottering at 116/7, squandering the advantage of bowling out Saurashtra for 202, as 17 wickets fell on an extremely productive first day for bowlers.

Saurashtra skipper Jaydev Unadkat won the toss and opted to bat first but his decision backfired as the team slipped to 23/3 in no time. Pujara, the 36-year-old seasoned campaigner with 103 Tests and 261 First-Class matches under his belt, walked in at the fall of Vishvaraj Jadeja, but all he could manage was three runs in 16 balls.

Left-arm spinner Hitesh Walunj, who was the day’s most successful bowler with excellent figures of 6/93 in 26 overs, got rid of the game’s most high-profile player when he trapped Pujara in front of the wicket, leaving Saurashtra in a precarious position pretty early into the match.

The out-of-favour Pujara was not considered for the ongoing five-match Test series against England at home, with the national selectors preferring new faces instead.