100-man Pujara gears up for a precious Test 50

Photo: AP

Galle (Sri Lanka): The man who is not known to be content with a half-century, Cheteshwar Pujara is all set to bring up the most important fifty of his career when India takes on Sri Lana in the second of the three-Test series in Colombo.

On verge of his 50th Test, India’s No 3 said that he wants to keep performing for the team and improve his performance with each passing day.

"Playing the 50th test match for the country, it will be a proud moment for me. When I started playing cricket, I thought that test cricket is something I always wanted to play. And, when I have to represent India for the 50th test match it will be a proud moment. I want to keep performing and continue improving as a cricketer. I am confident that I can add few more shots in my batting," Pujara said here.

"One of the most challenging times of my career was when I was out for six months; I got injured again in 2011 and didn't play for a year. So, that I don't catch any more injuries. But obviously you cannot guarantee anything," he added.

He further said that 2010 was the most crucial year for him when he made his debut.

"I remember my 1st test as I wanted to play with legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly, Virendra Sehwag.I think playing domestic cricket did help me as a player," he added.

Pujara was dropped from the Test team during the tour of West Indies last year. But since his return to the team, India have played 15 Tests and Pujara has emerged as the team's highest run-getter.

In a stellar Test career of 49 matches, the 29-year-old has scored 3942 runs at an average of 53.27. He has scored 12 centuries, with a top score of 206*. And, one could only expect this Rajkot lad to continue with this conventional, gritty, gutsy style of batting and score more runs for India.