Cheteshwar Pujara- The Only Obscure Among A Sea Of Flamboyancy In World Cricket

India’s Test specialist batsman Cheteshwar Pujara is not known for smashing a lot of sixers, for a fact in his already very successful career, Pujara has smashed fewer sixers than Veteran English pacer Stuart Broad and Indian speedster Mohammed Shami.

The 33-year-old Pujara is one of the very few cricketers of the current generation who possess the old-school cricketing technique. In the era of counterattacking batsmen, Cheteshwar Arvind Pujara is the one who frustrates bowlers with his impeccable defensive skills. Pujara’s batting stance is often compared with the legendary Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid who is named amongst the greatest of all time and was known as The Wall of Indian cricket.

Cheteshwar Pujara even got the nickname of the Modern Day ‘Wall’ of the Indian cricket team. Also just like Dravid he has been named Mr. Dependable. However, he has not been very dependable lately. He saw a major dip in his career as he averaged only 20.37 in 2020. Meanwhile, 2021 also has not been a great one for Pujara as he averages 31.10. In the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) cycle he faced heavy criticism for his poor batting as he scored 1068 at an average of 28.86.

However, with a lot of questions raised against his inclusion in the team, The 33-year-old has started to gain back some momentum. As he has scored good runs in Lord’s, Leeds, and The Oval for India in the ongoing 5-match Test series against England.

Cheteshwar Pujara vs Mohammed Shami vs Stuart Broad Vs Mark Wood

Pujara has represented India in 90 Test matches smashing only 14 maximums. Comparing it with Stuart Broad who has already smashed 49 sixers in 149 games and Tailender Mohammed Shami who has 21 six under his belt in 54 Test games. Even England pacer Mark Wood in his 21 match Test career has smashed 11 sixers.

However, Cheteshwar Pujara is miles ahead of the other 3 players in terms of fours as he has smashed 773 fours. It’s clear that Pujara hits boundaries but he doesn’t like a lot going over the top every time. Pujara is following the path of his ideal and legendary Indian batsman Dravid who smashed only 21 sixes in his remarkable Test career. The batsmen like Pujara and Dravid are prime examples of how smashing a lot of sixers doesn’t make a player great in Tests, it’s all about survival, temperament, and intent.

When did Cheteshwar Pujara Hit His Last Test Six

The 33-year-old has smashed at least one-six against all big Test-playing nations. Pujara has smashed 3 maximums against Australia, 1 against Bangladesh, 2 each against New Zealand and England, a sole six against Sri Lanka, and As many as 5 maximums against South Africa ( in Tests). So far he hasn’t registered a six against West Indies and Afghanistan. Notably, among the 14 sixers, 10 of them have come at home, and 2 in Australia 1 in Sri Lanka, and 1 in New Zealand.

Pujara hit his last six in the match against South Africa at Pune on October 10, 2019. Since then he hasn’t registered a single maximum. Cheteshwar Pujara even smashed a half-century in that match which eventually resulted in India winning the match by an innings and 137 runs.

Also Read: Top 10 Run Scorers For Team India In International Cricket

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