IND vs AUS 4th Test: Cheteshwar Pujara on brink of special club as Team India eye comeback with bat

India’s Cheteshwar Pujara will look to join a special club of players on Day 3 of the Ahmedabad Test as Team India look to narrow down a massive deposit in the first innings. The Saurashtra batter has been a great servant of Indian cricket down the years as he looks to add yet another feather to his impressive career. Needing just nine runs on Day 3 of the Ahmedabad Test, Pujara will join Sachin Tendulkar and coach Rahul Dravid in a special club of players which also has a place for former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting.

Pujara, 35, recently played in his 100th Test match and needs nine more runs against Australia on Day 3 to complete 2000 runs in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. One of the modern-day greats for India, the right-hand batter is currently on 1991 runs in 24 matches (42 innings). He stands ahead of Virat Kohli in the tally while also being the highest scorer amongst active players from India and Australia. If he does manage to score 59 runs on Day 3, he will surpass former Aussie skipper Michael Clarke who currently resides at fifth.

Currently, India’s all-time great Sachin Tendulkar leads the chart with 3630 runs in 39 matches (74 innings) while he is followed by Ricky Ponting with 2555 runs in 29 matches (51 innings). VVS Laxman, another legend of the game comes third on the list with 2434 runs in 29 matches (54 innings). Rahul Dravid and Michael Clarke come next on the chart before Pujara takes his place in the standings. Virat Kohli is currently on 1793 runs and will need 207 runs to join the club.

India came unscratched at stumps on Day 2 with the scoreboard reading 36/0 as Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma look to put India into a good position. Australia scored 480 in their first innings as Usman Khawaja (180) and Cameron Green (114) were the architects of the innings as they both stitched a fifth wicket stand of 208 runs.