Ranji Trophy Group A: Pujara hits 43rd first-class ton

Cheteswar Pujara scored his 43rd first-class hundred and Snell Patell his first, guiding Saurashtra to a comfortable 311 for one at stumps on day one of their Ranji Trophy Group A match against defending champions Gujarat.

Rajkot: Cheteswar Pujara scored his 43^rd first-class hundred and Snell Patell his first, guiding Saurashtra to a comfortable 311 for one at stumps on day one of their Ranji Trophy Group A match against defending champions Gujarat.

Pujara (115) and Patel (156) shared an unbeaten 252-run stand after new recruit Robin Uthappa fell in the 24th over.

It was good match practice for Pujara ahead of the Sri Lanka series that begins with the first Test at the Eden Gardens from November 16.

The gritty right-hander faced 188 balls and his effort included 15 fours. Pujara had broken Vijay Merchant's record of most double hundreds in first-class cricket by an Indian after scoring 204 against Jharkhand last week.

Patel too was impressive in his eighth first-class game and played 277 balls in an effort that included 21 boundaries.

Brief scores: Saurashtra 311/1 in 90 overs (Pujara 115 batting, Patel 156 batting; Chawla 1/64).     At Rohtak: Haryana 99/7 in 44 overs against Rajasthan.

At Jamshedpur: J&K 355/6 in 90 overs