Cheteshwar Pujara missed the presence of his wife during his 50th Test

India’s mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara marked his milestone 50th Test match with a century but felt the occasion would have been more special with his wife’s presence from the stands. Pujara scored a classy 133, ensuring no hiccups, as the visitors wrapped an innings and 53-run victory at Colombo.

Often, Pujara’s wife was seen cheering for his man from the stands, as the batsman kept on piling up the big runs on a consistent basis. Pujara has so far scored 4099 runs from 50 Test matches at an average of 53.23, with 13 centuries and 15 fifties. He has also represented India in coloured clothing, playing just five games and scoring 51 runs with a best of 27.

An emotional picture from Pujara

Pujara posted an emotional picture of him along with his wife Puja and the caption read: “Had a memorable #50thtest…thank you all for making it special…missed this face in the stands though. #throwback to good times #lifeline.”

The reliable middle-order batsman has his priorities clear. He doesn’t play in the IPL and usually seen participating in the longer-format of the game mostly. Skipper Virat Kohli lauded Pujara as one of India’s best batsmen. “Pujara and Ajinkya are our two best Test batsmen, especially in the middle order. They’ve been doing so well consistently. Pujara, I would give him more credit because he only plays one format for India. And to be able to have that hunger and passion day in day out, working hard on his game, coming out and having those consistent performances takes a lot of mental strength,” Kohli said.

India will be playing the third and final Test match of the 3-match series at Kandy from August 12 and this will provide Kohli’s men a chance to script a whitewash against the Lankans. India looked unfazed and won the previous Test matches comfortably. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, will have their task cut out as they look to avoid an embarrassing 3-0 cleanup.