Hyderabad: India's one of the most dependable batters in Test cricket, Cheteshwar Pujara, has once again etched his name in the annals of the sport. He surpassed former West Indies captain Brian Lara's record with his 66th first-class century. He achieved this significant landmark during round 2 of the Ranji Trophy against Chhattisgarh at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot on Monday, October 21, 2024.
The Saurashtra batter reached his 66th first-class hundred and 25th in Ranji Trophy in 197 balls, leading his side’s response to Chhattisgarh’s mammoth first-innings total of 578/7. This inning helped him go one more step closer to former India coach and cricketer Rahul Dravid, who was on the list for most FC hundreds by an Indian, with the latter having racked up 68 FC tons.
66th strong and outstanding First Class Ton by none other than The Wall Cheteshwar Pujara in Ranji Trophy match against Chhattisgarh being played at Niranjan Shah Stadium @cheteshwar1 #ranjitrophy pic.twitter.com/1mCxha9kvd
— Saurashtra Cricket (@saucricket) October 21, 2024
Former legendary batters Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar lead the chart with 81 FC centuries each under their belts. Pujara's domestic career is replete with impressive feats. During his knock against Chhattisgarh, Pujara, who is currently out of the Test team, also went past 21,000 FC runs, becoming the fourth Indian to do so - after Gavaskar, Tendulkar and Dravid.
Gavaskar, who played domestic cricket for Mumbai, leads the list with 25,834 runs, followed by Tendulkar who finished his career with 25,396. Dravid is currently third in the list with 23,794 runs, followed by Pujara. He leveled with Paras Dogra in the elite list who also has nine double hundreds to his name in India’s premier domestic tournament. He also became the Indian player with most double centuries in first-class cricket with three of them coming in international cricket.
His 18th double ton also helped him climb to the fourth spot in the list of most double centuries in first-class cricket leaving behind former England cricketers Herbert Sutcliffe and Mark Ramprakash who both have 17 first class centuries to their names. Pujara is now only behind Elias Henry Hendren (22), Wally Hammond (36) and Don Bradman (37) in terms of most double centuries in first class cricket.
Pujara equalled the record for most double as he brought up his landmark in 348 balls with the help of 22 fours and registered his 18th first-class double hundred and ninth in Ranji Trophy history.
Indians with the most First-Class hundreds
- Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar - 81
- Rahul Dravid - 68
- Cheteshwar Pujara - 66
- Vijay Hazare - 60
- Wasim Jaffer - 57
The right-hand batter's ability to anchor the innings and score daddy hundreds has been instrumental in Saurashtra's success in domestic cricket. Notably, in the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy, Pujara achieved his 50th first-class century, a testament to his consistency and longevity.
