Cheteshwar Pujara slams 4th consecutive ton in County; annuls Shaheen Afridi-led attack

Indian cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara has made a fantastic start to the County Championship, recording his fourth consecutive century on Saturday. Pujara's century, which comprised 13 boundaries and two sixes, came off only 133 balls against a strong Middlesex attack that included Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi. Pujara struck one of his two sixes off Afridi's bowling in the third over of Sussex's second innings, smacking the left-arm pacer's short ball towards backward point.

Pujara came in to bat at a critical juncture when Sussex were 6/2 in 1.1 overs. Afridi and Ethan Bamber had dismissed the openers cheaply. After hitting Afridi for a six in the third over, Pujara slammed the Pakistan pacer for one more boundary, taking the attack on Middlesex. The out-of-favour Indian batter soon brought up his 50 off 67 balls. Pujara continued his attacking style of play and quickly reached the three-digit mark before the end of play on Day 3. 

Pujara will resume his batting at his overnight score of 125 off 149 balls when the play starts on Day 4. He is currently batting alongside Tom Clarke, who was at 26 off 69 balls at the close of play on Day 3. Earlier in the first innings, Sussex were bowled out for 392 runs. Middlesex scored 358 runs in its first innings. With just a day of play remaining, the match is expected to end in a draw. It will be interesting to see if Sussex bowlers can bowl Middlesex out on day 4 or if the match will end in a draw. 

Pujara in County Championship

Pujara, who is playing only his fourth County match, has already scored two double centuries and two centuries in England's premier domestic tournament. Making his debut for Sussex last month, Pujara had scored an unbeaten 201 runs to help his side draw the match against Derbyshire. In his second match, Pujara scored 109 and 12 runs to continue his stellar form but couldn't help his team avoid a loss against Worcestershire. In the third game, Pujara hit his second double-century for Sussex, scoring 203 off 334 balls against Durham. 

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