Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2022: "Plays with more intent than Rizwan & Babar" - Netizens react as Cheteshwar Pujara slams 27-ball fifty

Team India Test batter Cheteshwar Pujara extended his fine run of form, slamming an impressive half-century for Saurashtra against Nagaland on Friday, October 14, in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2022.

The right-handed batter crossed the 50-run mark in just 27 deliveries, dazzling the viewers with his stunning strokeplay. He mustered 65 runs off 35 balls before falling to Imliwati Lemtur in the 13th over.

While Pujara has enjoyed tremendous success in Test cricket, he has showcased his white-ball credentials, playing impactful knocks in his recent outings. A number of fans took to social media to praise Pujara for yet another quick-fire innings.

Pujara's county stint with Sussex has given his career a new lease of life. The seasoned campaigner, who was dropped from India's Test team earlier this year, made a fantastic comeback by performing admirably for Sussex.

In the Royal One-Day Cup 2022, he amassed 624 from nine games to finish with a fantastic average of 88.83. Pujara was the leading run-scorer for Sussex in the red-ball competition too, amassing 1094 runs from eight games.

Cheteshwar Pujara and Samarth Vyas help Saurashtra post a strong total against Nagaland

Nagaland won the toss and elected to field first against Saurashtra at the Emerald High School Ground in Indore. Pujara, who opened the innings, gave his team a great start by scoring runs at a quick pace.

Samarth Vyas starred with the bat for Saurashtra with his unbeaten 97-run knock. The Jaydev Unadkat-led side managed to post 203-5.

Saurashtra are the table toppers in Elite Group D with six points from two games. Their opening encounter against Andhra was abandoned due to rain. They secured a crucial four-wicket victory in their ensuing clash against Baroda.

Saurashtra's squad for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2022

Squad: Cheteshwar Pujara, Jay Gohil, Parth Chauhan, Samarth Vyas, Chirag Jani, Navneet Vora, Parth Bhut, Prerak Mankad, Harvik Desai (Wk), Sheldon Jackson (Wk), Tarang Gohel (Wk), Devang Karamta, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Jaydev Unadkat (c), Kushang Patel, Yuvraj Chudasama

Do you think Cheteshwar Pujara will be able to bag a contract at this year's Indian Premier League auction? Let us know your thoughts in the comments box down below.

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Aditya writes news, features, listicles, and exclusive pieces at Sportskeeda as a cricket journalist. After completing his MBA in Sports Management from Symbiosis, he started his professional journey and has a total work experience of 5 years, which included a stint at Republic World. Impressively, he has also done exclusive on-site coverage of two T20 World Cups (2021, 2022), the 2023 ODI World Cup, and 5 editions of IPL, and boasts a total readership of close to 14 million at Sportskeeda. He has also played cricket professionally at the AIU Zonal level for Ahmedabad district.

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