India emerged victorious by 6 wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday to take a 2-0 lead in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. While the two teams remain extremely competent on the cricket pitch not giving an inch to each other, once the match was done and dusted India star Cheteshwar Pujara, who was playing his 100th Test match, received a special jersey from Australian captain Pat Cummins which was signed by the entire Australian team.
Even though Pujara couldn't score a run in the first innings, he did play a significant role with the bat after coming in to bat early in the fourth innings after KL Rahul walked back to the pavilion early. Pujara remained unbeaten on 31 and came back only after the match had been clinched by the Men in Blue.
You’ve put your body on the line for India: Gavaskar To Pujara
Before the start of the Delhi Test, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar handed over a special cap to India's reliable number 3 batter over the years.
"When you go out to bat, it’s as if you’re taking the India flag with you. You’ve put your body on the line for India. You’ve taken the blows, you got up, and you made bowlers earn your wicket. Every single run you scored is a big plus for India. You've been a role model for what hard work, self-belief, and dreams can do," Gavaskar had said.
Pujara became the 13th Indian to reach the 100-Test milestone and was accompanied by his father, his wife and daughter on the special occasion on the morning of Day 1.
"Legends like you have inspired me. As a young cricketer, I always dreamt of playing for India, but I never thought I'd be playing 100 Test matches for India," the 35-year-old said.