Cheteshwar Pujara's three best performances in a Test series

Overview

• Cheteshwar Pujara announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on August 24, 2025
• The 37-year-old scored 7195 runs at an average of 43.61 in 103 Test matches for India
• Some of his best performances in a Test series came against strong teams like Australia and South Africa

Cheteshwar Pujara announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on August 24, 2025. The 37-year-old scored 7195 runs at an average of 43.61 in 103 Test matches for India. Some of his best performances in a Test series came against strong teams like Australia and South Africa. In the away tour of South Africa in 2013/14, and in all Border Gavaskar Trophies, he played a key role for India.

Pujara was known for his old school technique of blocking everything thrown at him to hold one end up, allowing batters to bat around him. In the Rachi Test 2017 against Australia, he scored 202(525), facing the most number of deliveries in an innings for India. He held many such records and played a key role in India's dominance in the longest format of the game from 2015 to 2021.

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Cheteshwar Pujara's three best performances in a Test series

India's tour of South Africa 2013/14

Pujara's performance in India's tour of South Africa in the 2013/14 season is one of his bests. The star player played two Tests and scored 280 runs, at an average of 70.00. The South African attack featured quality pacers like Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander, and Morne Morkel, all at their prime, along with Jacques Kallis and Imran Tahir.

In the Johannesburg Test, the star batter scored 25(98) in the first innings before getting run out. In the second innings, he shined with a terrific 153(270), which helped India secure a draw. In the Boxing Day Test in Durban, Pujara scored 70(132) in the first innings and followed it up with 32(100) in the second innings.

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Border Gavaskar Trophy 2017

It was India's toughest challenge at home since the series against England in 2012/13. Australia rotated its pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Pat Cummins in different Tests and had a good spin duo in Steve O'Keefe and Nathan Lyon. The duo ran through the Indian batting lineup in the Pune Test, in which Pujara failed with scores of 6(23) and 31(58).

In the Bengaluru Test, he scored 17(66) in the first innings and batted well in the second innings with his 92(221). In the Ranchi Test, the right-handed batter scored 202(525), helping India secure a draw. In the series decider, he scored 57(151) in the first innings and was ran out in the second innings. He scored 405 runs in 4 Tests at an average of 57.86.

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Border Gavaskar Trophy 2018/19

It was unarguably Pujara's best performance in a Test series, as the bowling attack consisted of the quartet of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, and Nathan Lyon. Pujara played the biggest role in India's first-ever series win in Australia, as he scored 521 runs in 4 Tests, at an average of 74.43, and won the Player of the Series award.

In the first Test in Adelaide, Pujara scored 123(246) and 71(204), which helped India's win. In the Perth Test, he scored 24(103) and 4(11), whose failure resulted in India's loss. In the Melbourne Test, the star batter scored 106(319) and 0(2) respectively. In the Sydney Test, the Indian batter scored 193(373) and played a huge role in the series win.