When it comes to old school Test match batting in the modern era, very few batters do it as well as Cheteshwar Pujara. Armed with a strong temperament and solid technique, the Saurashtra batter was at his best when he batted out time, wearing down bowlers with his extreme levels of patience. Across his 103 Tests, Pujara's strike-rate was 44.36 and while this is a usually pointless metric in the longest format, it still tells you the overall pace at which a batter scores.
However, it is not like Pujara couldn't or didn't score at quick pace at all. There were times when he used to bat at a higher tempo, especially on tough tracks where his elite gameplay against spin allowed him to take on the best of tweakers. Here are five of Pujara's fastest knocks in Test cricket - when he got past 70.
82*(92) v Australia, Delhi 2013
One of the rare games where Pujara opened the batting, this knock came in the fourth innings when India were set a target of 155, which looked paltry from the outset but with the pitch aiding spin progressively, India couldn't afford to be complacent. As it turned out, Pujara made light work of it, stroking 11 boundaries in his 92-ball innings to floor the Aussies.
72(89) vs Australia, Bangalore 2010
This innings came very early in Pujara's Test career and gave us the indication that a new no.3 had been unearthed. Having batted at no.5 in the first innings, Pujara was pushed up to no.3 as India were set a target of 207 on a deteriorating surface at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Despite being a rookie then, Pujara barely let the pressure to get to him and took on Australia's lone specialist spinner Nathan Hauritz with a combination of deft touch and nimble footwork. This knock is good enough to be rated amongst his five best innings as well.
102*(130) vs Bangladesh, Chattogram 2022
This is Pujara's fastest Test hundred and the fact that this came 12 years into his career, shows that he had adapted to the demands of the modern game. In this game, Pujara's versatility was in full flow as he made 90 in the first innings through his trademark patient style, consuming 203 deliveries in the process. However, with India looking for quick runs before declaration in the second innings, Pujara stepped it up and took on the bowlers to register a rapid ton.
101*(148) vs New Zealand, Indore 2016
This Test match is best remembered for the marathon tons from Virat Kohli (211) and Ajinkya Rahane (188), with their marathon 365-run stand putting India in pole position in the game after they were 100/3 early on the first day. However, Pujara added a stamp of his own to the game in India's second innings, after the hosts had opted against enforcing the follow-on. With a short window available to bat before the inevitable declaration, Pujara switched on his intent and peeled off another three-figure knock in Test cricket.
113(167) vs West Indies, Mumbai 2013
Another hugely significant game where Pujara also made his presencee felt. This was Sachin Tendulkar's farewell game in international cricket and understandably, there was only one person that people were interested in for the fixture. While he couldn't bowl out with a hundred, Tendulkar still thrilled the spectators with a strokeful 74 before getting caught at slip. Pujara had the privilege of being the great man's last partner in international cricket, batting as he was at no.3 in the game. They also put on a 144-run stand to stabilize the Indian innings. After Tendulkar left to an emotional send-off, Pujara stroked his way to a brisk century, although it was overshadowed by a much more aggressive hundred from Rohit Sharma at no.6.