Cheteshwar Pujara stood tall as Saurashtra finished at 581 for 6 in chase of Tamil Nadu's 565 for 8 declared.
CHENNAI: The fourth day of the Tamil Nadu-Saurashtra Ranji Group B game here was once again about one man - Cheteshwar Pujara (269, 33x4) - and his ability to carry the team on his shoulders. The ever-solid Pujara continued from where he had left off on Saturday to give his team the all-important first-innings lead.
The India No. 3 stood tall as Saurashtra finished at 581-6 in chase of TN's 565-8 declared. It helped them gain the crucial three points while TN had to be content with one.
Pujara's batting was about his refined approach and finesse. There was hardly a false stroke and the Saurashtra batsman ensured that he doesn't play anything in the air. Having commenced the day on 152, Pujara quickly got off the blocks as the TN bowlers struggled to find answers.
More than the Tamil Nadu bowlers, it was bad light apart from rain that seemed to come in the way of Saurashtra taking the first innings lead. Pujara was left stranded on 193 for about an hour in the morning session.
But once the covers were off, he did not take much time to script his ninth double century in first-class cricket, courtesy a square-drive off right-arm medium-pacer J Kaushik. Pujara, along with skipper Jaydev Shah (195, 17x4, 8x6) proved to be biggest difference between the two sides.
Earlier, a cloud cover greeted the teams as they arrived for the final day, but that did not deter the Shah-Pujara pair from getting the runs at will. From their overnight total of 326-3, the visitors swelled their total to 419 before right-arm medium-pacer Aswin Crist dismissed Shah off his very first over of the day, caught by B Aparajith at gully. The Shah-Pujara stand fetched 353 runs in 93 overs.
The two captains decided to call off play once Pujara was dismissed by part-timer Aparajith.
"Pujara is always expected to bat well and we know he can carry on for sessions. He never gave the opposition any opportunity and we are happy to go home with the three crucial points," skipper Shah said.
The India No. 3 stood tall as Saurashtra finished at 581-6 in chase of TN's 565-8 declared. It helped them gain the crucial three points while TN had to be content with one.
Pujara's batting was about his refined approach and finesse. There was hardly a false stroke and the Saurashtra batsman ensured that he doesn't play anything in the air. Having commenced the day on 152, Pujara quickly got off the blocks as the TN bowlers struggled to find answers.
More than the Tamil Nadu bowlers, it was bad light apart from rain that seemed to come in the way of Saurashtra taking the first innings lead. Pujara was left stranded on 193 for about an hour in the morning session.
But once the covers were off, he did not take much time to script his ninth double century in first-class cricket, courtesy a square-drive off right-arm medium-pacer J Kaushik. Pujara, along with skipper Jaydev Shah (195, 17x4, 8x6) proved to be biggest difference between the two sides.
Earlier, a cloud cover greeted the teams as they arrived for the final day, but that did not deter the Shah-Pujara pair from getting the runs at will. From their overnight total of 326-3, the visitors swelled their total to 419 before right-arm medium-pacer Aswin Crist dismissed Shah off his very first over of the day, caught by B Aparajith at gully. The Shah-Pujara stand fetched 353 runs in 93 overs.
The two captains decided to call off play once Pujara was dismissed by part-timer Aparajith.
"Pujara is always expected to bat well and we know he can carry on for sessions. He never gave the opposition any opportunity and we are happy to go home with the three crucial points," skipper Shah said.
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