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Sussex captain Cheteshwar Pujara rescued his side in their County Championship Division Two 2023 opener against Durham on Day 2 of the clash at Country Ground, Hove to begin his World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 final preparations.
Pujara came in to bat at no.4 when openers Alistair Orr and Tom Haines had returned to the dressing room. Tom Alsop and Tom Clark failed to make a mark as well and Sussex were struggling for 91/4. Pujara shared a crucial partnership with wicketkeeper-batter Oliver Carter.
They shared a 112-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Pujara started off cautiously and got to his half-century from 77 balls. Pujara got to his century with three boundaries off Brydon Carse' over.
The partnership was broken by Australia's left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann who made a mark during Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023. Carter scored 41 runs from 96 balls including seven fours. The 35-year-old scored 115 runs from 163 balls including 13 fours and one six. He was dismissed by Ben Raine in the third session.
Earlier on Day 1, Pujara won the toss and opted to field first. Alex Lees (79) and Michael Jones (87) got Durham off to a terrific start with 142-run partnership. After that Durham batters got starts but failed to convert them into big scores. Australian pacer Nathan McAdnrew registered a five-wicket haul to restrict Durham's first innings score to 376.
“I am glad to be back with Sussex for the 2023 season. I thoroughly enjoyed my last stint with the club last season, both on and off the field and I’m looking forward to contributing to the team’s growth and success in the coming year,” Pujara said in a statement issued by the county side when he was re-signed in October 2022.
In the previous, veteran India batter had scored 1,094 runs from eight matches. He led them in the One-Day Cup as well.
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