3 unique records held by Cheteshwar Pujara in Tests

India's Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara has turned 37 today (January 25). The veteran Indian batter was born on January 25, 1988, in Rajkot. He hails from a family of cricketers as his father Arvind Pujara and uncle Bipin Pujara played domestic matches for Saurashtra.

However, Cheteshwar has been the most successful cricketer from the Pujara family. He has played 103 Test matches and five ODI matches for India so far. While he is known for his extraordinary batting performances in Test cricket, Pujara has also won the IPL trophy once with the Chennai Super Kings in 2021.

Since it is Cheteshwar Pujara's special day, in this listicle now, we will look back at some of his unique achievements on the cricket field.

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#1 Cheteshwar Pujara is the only Indian cricketer to have played 500+ balls in a Test innings

Test cricket demands patience from batters. These days, it is rare to see even teams batting for 500+ balls in an innings, but Cheteshwar Pujara once managed to face more than 500 deliveries in a Test innings alone.

It was during Australia's tour of India in 2017 during the third Test of the series hosted by Ranchi. Australia batted first in the match and scored 451 runs. In reply, India got off to a top-quality start with openers KL Rahul and Murali Vijay scoring a half-century each.

Rahul lost his wicket caught behind on 67, inviting Pujara to the crease. The number three batter tormented the Australian bowling lineup by staying in the middle for 672 minutes. He faced 525 balls, scoring 202 runs at a strike rate of 38.47. Pujara's knock consisted of 21 fours.

To date, no other Indian cricketer has achieved the feat of facing 500+ balls in a single Test innings. 11 players have faced 400+ deliveries, but none of them could make it to 500+ balls.

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#2 Batting on all 5 days of a Test match yet scoring less than 75 runs

It is rare to see Test matches lasting for five days in the modern era of cricket. Hence, it is even more rare to see a single batter getting a chance to bat on all five days. Only 13 batters have achieved this rare feat in cricket history, and one of them is Cheteshwar Pujara.

Among the 13 batters, Pujara is the only one who finished with an aggregate of less than 75 in the match. He scored 52 & 22 in the Kolkata Test against Sri Lanka in 2017.

Rain did not allow much action on Day 1, where India were 17/3 at stumps, with Pujara unbeaten on 8*. On the next day, India were 74/5 at stumps, with Pujara not out on 47*. Pujara lost his wicket for 52 on the third day.

On Day 4, Pujara was not out on 2* in the second innings with India's score being 171/1. Pujara was dismissed for 22 on the fifth day, with the match ending in a draw eventually.

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#3 Most balls faced by an Indian in Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Australian bowlers were delighted to see Pujara in the commentary panel for the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The reason behind it is that the veteran Indian batter would frustrate the Aussie bowlers with his solid defense.

Cheteshwar Pujara's defense played a huge role in India's historic 2-1 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series win on Australian soil in 2018/19. He faced 1,258 deliveries during the four-match Test series. It is the most by an Indian in a single Test series against Australia.