Senior Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara continues his purple patch in the ongoing County Championship 2022. Playing for Sussex, however, the 34-year-old India’s Test specialist scored his second double hundred in three matches against Durham on Saturday. Meanwhile, his 203 off 334 balls helped his side post 538 runs on the board. With this double hundred, Pujara becomes the player with the most first-class double centuries by Asian cricketers.
Image – NDTV
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The other Asian giants are Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara, two Pakistani legends Younis Khan, Javed Miandad, and lastly India’s Vijay Merchant.
Meanwhile, with Pujara’s second double hundred in three matches of the ongoing season, India’s number three batter in the longest format of the game equaled former Indian skipper Mohammed Azharuddin’s 28-year-old record in county cricket.
Pujara became the second Indian to score two double hundreds in the County Championship after Azharuddin. Azhar represented Derbyshire and scored 212 against Leicestershire in 1991 and 205 against Durham in 1994.
Pujara in County Championship 2022 so far:
•Innings: 5
•Runs: 531
•Average: 132.75
100s- 3, 200s-2 & 50s- 0
Now, let’s take a look at the top five Asian cricketers who have smashed the most first-class double centuries so far.
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Most first-class double centuries by Asian cricketers:
| Serial No. | Player | Century |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Cheteshwar Pujara | 15 |
| 2. | Kumar Sangakkara | 13 |
| 3. | Younis Khan | 12 |
| 4. | Javed Miandad | 12 |
| 5. | Vijay Merchant | 11 |
Pujara’s 203 against Durham was his 15th double-hundred in first-class cricket. He also scored 201 against Derbyshire in the second innings of his maiden game in the ongoing season of the County Championship 2022.
In between his double hundreds in the first and third match, Pujara made 109 off 206 balls in the second game against Worcestershire. Although, he couldn’t save his side from an embarrassing inning and 34-run defeat.
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During his 203-run knock, Pujara faced 334 deliveries and scored 24 boundaries. He first added 99 runs for the fourth wicket with Tom Alsop. Alsop made 66 from 129 balls in that match. Pujara then added another 143 runs with number six batter Tom Clark for the fifth wicket on Friday.
