'Debut to remember' - Fans appreciate Cheteshwar Pujara for his unbeaten 201 in County debut

The last few months haven't really been great for Cheteshwar Pujara. After a string of low scores, he was dropped from India's Test side. Although the veteran has been an absolute pillar for the Indian team, he hasn't been at his best in the recent past.

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Besides, he found no bidders during the Indian T20 league 2022 auction and thus, went unsold. Hence, he is currently in England, playing for Sussex in the County Championship Division Two 2022. His County debut saw him score a magnificent double hundred. His unbeaten 201 ensured that his side draw the game against Derbyshire.

After winning the toss and electing to bat first, the Billy Godleman-led Side declared after getting to 505. Their opener Shan Masood got to a superb 239. In reply, Sussex were bundled for just 174. Derbyshire's bowlers were simply sensational.

During the second innings, the Sussex openers got their side to a superb start as they put on 119 runs for the opening partnership. As for Pujara, he walked in to bat during the 53rd over. Sussex were 145-2 at that point in time. The 34-year old got to his milestone in the 177th over of the innings.

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The India batter ensured that the Tom Haines-led side don't lose their way again. Sussex then scored 513-3 in the second innings as the game couldn't yield a result.

While he took 387 balls to score his unbeaten 201, he also scored 23 boundaries during his knock. This ensured that the game ends in a draw. It is to be noted that alongside Pujara, even the Sussex skipper got to a double century. He scored 243 in 491 balls. The Saurashtra batter then took to Twitter to express his happiness in contributing to his side.

"Enjoyed my debut game for @SussexCCC. Glad that I could contribute to the team's cause. Looking forward to the next game!" read Cheteshwar Pujara's Tweet. Thus, several fans took to Twitter to draw light on his performance. They congratulated him for his excellent display of batting.

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Enjoyed my debut game for @SussexCCC. Glad that I could contribute to the team's cause. Looking forward to the next game! pic.twitter.com/YHxrhwBaZw

— cheteshwar pujara (@cheteshwar1) April 17, 2022

Here are some of the Tweets:

Pujara gets a 100 on Debut at #Sussex ! Shabash @cheteshwar1 👏🏻#County

— Vikram Sathaye (@vikramsathaye) April 17, 2022

Highest scores by Indians for Sussex :-
201* - C Pujara v Derbyshire, today
102* - P Chawla v Worcestershire, 2009
101 - Nawab of Pataudi v Hampshire, 1965

Cheteshwar Pujara today became the first Indian to score a double century for Sussex.#CountyCricket2022

— Rhitankar Bandyopadhyay (@rhitankar8616) April 17, 2022

Cheteshwar Pujara smashed an unbeaten double-century on his Sussex debut as he helps his team draw the match after following on 👏

📷 Sussex#CountyCricket2022 #Sussex pic.twitter.com/QYzJGBBn4Q

— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) April 17, 2022

Sorry, what? Hanuma Vihari to replace Pujara?
Well, Cheteshwar Pujara is NOT FINISHED YET!
Scored a century on his Sussex debut! You can't put the backbone of the test side to an abrupt end. He is a wall and has countered the criticism with a century!! #CheteshwarPujara pic.twitter.com/977MvHXzOA

— Shubham🇮🇳 (@LoyalNCTFan) April 17, 2022

India's Cheteshwar Pujara smashed an unbeaten double century (201*) on his debut for Sussex and that helped his team to draw the match after following on. While Pakistan's M Rizwan scored just 22 runs on his debut innings for Sussex in county championship. #CountyCricket2022 pic.twitter.com/PLnR4sIHwt

— Ahmad Haseeb (@iamAhmadhaseeb) April 18, 2022

Playing for Sussex, Cheteshwar Pujara scores a century against Derbyshire. He had scored 6 in the first innings. #CountyCricket2022

— Subhayan Chakraborty (@CricSubhayan) April 17, 2022

A big milestone for Cheteshwar Pujara - the new @SussexCCC recruit passes 17,000 first-class runs 🏏

🧢 227 appearances
📊 50.6 average
💯 50 hundreds
🔝 High score: 352

Unbelievable numbers 💪#LVCountyChamp pic.twitter.com/Bo6CNLCyc5

— PCA (@PCA) April 16, 2022

A @SussexCCC debut to remember for Cheteshwar Pujara.#CountyCricket pic.twitter.com/DhsXzvQqDr

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) April 17, 2022

So Cheteshwar Pujara had a Sussexful outing yesterday. #ExtremelySorry

— Udit (@udit_buch) April 18, 2022

Cheteshwar Pujara against Derbyshire, following on:

201* (387 balls, 23 fours)

A Sussex debut to remember 👏#CountyCricket pic.twitter.com/fSITPSC6a4

— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) April 17, 2022

Double century for Cheteshwar Pujara on his debut for Sussex. Absolute brilliant stuff by Pujara. pic.twitter.com/WEXddqOtmg

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) April 17, 2022

An unbeaten 201 from @cheteshwar1 & 243 by @tomhainess helps @SussexCCC fightback for a draw against @DerbyshireCCC. https://t.co/H9MSjK8cqO#bbccricket pic.twitter.com/3rFsvBJgqZ

— Test Match Special (@bbctms) April 17, 2022