From Making Waves In Domestic Cricket To Becoming Team India's New Wall - Cheteshwar Pujara's Journey To The Top

For those of us who grew up in the 1990s, Rahul Dravid was The Wall we knew. Fast forward to 20 years later, you will get another name who is worthy of the title. His name is Cheteshwar Pujara, and he is a bowler's worst nightmare in the longest version of the game.

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After his three centuries in the victorious Test series Down Under, the man has certified his position as the best No. 3 we have had in the recent past. Since Dravid's retirement we have struggled to find a replacement, but since 2013, Pujara has pretty much fit into the role.

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But the journey started many years ago. To see how he got this far, we must go back to where it all began:

Fantastic start in U-19 cricket.

In 2005, he opened the innings against England in a Test and scored 211 runs. As a result we won by an innings and 137 runs. But this was only a sign of things to come. In the 2006 World Cup, he scored 349 runs in 6 innings which included a century and 3 fifties. His scores of 97 and 129 in the quarters and semis respectively took us to the final which we sadly lost to Pakistan.

Domestic waves

In the 2012-13 the Ranji Trophy he slammed 203* for Saurashtra against Madhya Pradesh to take them to the quarters quarters. What followed made that knock look pedestrian in comparison. Pujara piled on the misery against Karnataka with a mammoth 352. He was not done yet though. 2013 saw he him become one of the few with three triple hundreds at first class level. 302* had come vs Orissa in 2008/09 and after that 352 he got 306* vs India A against West Indies A.

Test entry

Pujara found a place in the side for the 2nd Test vs Australia in 2010 after VVS Laxman was left out due to injury. He made just 4 in the first innings, but then MS Dhoni sent him up at No. 3 in place of Dravid in the second innings and he compiled a brilliant 72 to help us win the game.

Cementing his place

2012 saw the rise of Pujara into prominence. A brilliant 159 got him off the mark in the Test century department as New Zealand felt the wrath of his blade. During his double hundred vs Australia in 2013, he became the 2nd fastest Indian to get to 1,000 Test runs. 2014 saw a bit of a dip after the horror show in England, but after an excellent 145 vs Sri Lanka in 2015, there was no looking back as he settled in as our regular No. 3.

Becoming The New Wall

On the tour to Australia in 2018-19, India won their first Test series Down Under. Pujara was the architect of that victory with 3 hundreds in 4 Tests. He was just stuck at the crease and the Aussies could not remove him. It was his patience that allowed the other batsmen to break free. By the end of the series, we knew that The New Wall of Indian cricket had arrived.

Making a legacy

Pujara is finally out of the shadow of his more illustrious peers like Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma. He is carving his own path to leave his own legacy. At just 31, he has a good 5-6 years of Test cricket ahead and one expects more brilliant knocks from the man who did the impossible, he filled the void left by a player like Rahul Dravid.