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Saurashtra lad creates national record
By Suresh Parekh

Jan 19, 2001, 14:15 Hrs (IST)

Rajkot: Saurashtra's Cheteshwar Pijara created a national record when he scored a triple century in the West Zone under-14 tournament. In the three-day match between Saurashtra and Baroda at the Motibaug Palace ground, Cheteshwar Pujara scored 306 not out and thus became the first batsman to score a triple century and the highest individual score in the under-14 category.

Saurashtra declared their first innings at the score of 460 for five, out of which Cheteshwar's score read 306. He was not out on 182 at the close of the opening day and soon he reached the double century milestone on the second morning but at that time little was he aware that would achieve fame and glory by becoming the first batsman to score a triple century.

One of the highlights of his innings was his concentration and temperament, which he displayed throughout his stay at the wicket. He chose the right ball to hit and was never in hurry to speed up the innings. He stayed at the wicket for 540 minutes and faced 566 balls. He also hit 36 fours and was associated in two century partnership.

Cricket runs in his blood. He hails from the same school where his father and uncle studied and they both, incidentally, were Ranji players. Virani High School also produced Kapil Dev's fast bowling partner Karsan Ghavri. Cheteshwar's father Arvind Pujara played for Saurashtra with success and his uncle Bipin Pujara not only played around 45 Ranji Trophy matches for Saurashtra, but also was the wicket-keeper of the Indian under-16 team which toured West Indies and included Maninder Singh and L Sivaramkrishnan.

Now that Cheteshwar has began his career on a big note, it is, indeed, up to him to establish himself as a top category batsman. He should concentrate on finding a spot in the national team in the years to come.