Cheteshwar Pujara retires as India's second-best No.3 Test batter: Career in numbers

Cheteshwar Pujara has officially announced his retirement from all formats of cricket on August 24, bringing a distinguished Test career to an end at the age of 37. Over 103 Tests, he scored 7,195 runs at an average of 43.60, registering 19 centuries and 35 half-centuries.

Pujara made his debut against Australia in Bengaluru in October 2010. He managed only four runs in the first innings but impressed with a composed 72 in the second. His final appearance came nearly thirteen years later, in the 2023 World Test Championship final at The Oval, once again against Australia.

Also Read: Cheteshwar Pujara retires: The man who never relaxed, but was always at peace

Between those two milestones, Pujara built a reputation for resilience and technical mastery at No. 3, cementing his place as one of India’s most reliable Test batters. His retirement draws the curtain on an era defined by patience, grit, and an unwavering dedication to the longest format of the game.

Here are some numbers around Cheteshwar Pujara’s illustrious Test career

14 - Cheteshwar Pujara is one of the 14 Indian cricketers to have played 100 Test matches. The others are Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Anil Kumble, Kapil Dev, VVS Laxman, Sunil Gavaskar, Virat Kohli, Sunil Gavaskar, Sourav Ganguly, Ravi Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag.

8 - Cheteshwar Pujara is the eighth highest run-scorer for India in Tests. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar, Virat Kohli, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly are ahead of him.

2 - Cheteshwar Pujara is the second-highest run-scorer for India at No.3 in Tests. In 94 matches, Pujara scored 6488 runs with 18 hundreds and 32 fifties. Rahul Dravid is on top with 10381 runs from 133 Tests with 27 hundreds.

3 - Cheteshwar Pujara is third in the list of most runs by an Indian batter in a Test series in Australia. In 2018-19, he scored 521 runs from four matches with a top score of 193. Virat Kohli (692 in 2014-15) and Rahul Dravid (619 in 2003-04) are at first and second respectively.

3 - Cheteshwar Pujara is the third fastest Indian batter to reach 1000 Test runs in 18 innings when he achieved the feat in 2013. Vinod Kambli (14) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (16) are the top fastest.

2 - Cheteshwar Pujara is second in the list of most double hundreds by an Indian No.3 in Test cricket (3). Rahul Dravid is on top with five double centuries.

4 - Cheteshwar Pujara is fourth in the list of most balls faced by an Indian in a Test series. In the 2018-19 tour of Australia, Pujara faced 1258 balls in four matches. Sunil Gavaskar (1382 against England in 1981/82), Rahul Dravid (1336 against England in 2002) and Mohinder Amarnath (1304 against Pakistan in 1982-83) top the list.