Veteran Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara smashed an unbeaten hundred on Day 1 of the County Championship Division Two recreation for Sussex in opposition to Middlesex at Lord’s on July 19, Tuesday. This was additionally his first match because the captain of the aspect within the absence of Tom Haines, who’s dominated out attributable to an damage.
Middlesex skipper Tim Murtagh put Sussex to bat first on a Day 1 morning at Lord’s, on a green-top wicket. Each openers misplaced their wickets and not using a vital contribution, and so they had been on 99/2 after 34.2 overs. After which got here the Indian with a activity in hand to regular the innings.
Pujara, who usually has a status for being defensive and constructing the innings step by step, performed a counterattacking innings, comprising ten fours and a six, to place the guests firmly beneath management.
Third-wicket partnership places Sussex in command
For Murtagh’s males, within the first hour of the morning, because it usually is on a typical Lord’s observe, some early help was supplied to the seamers. Openers Ali Orr was dismissed for 7 off 25 balls by the house captain, and Tom Clark was dismissed for 33 off 84 balls by Tom Helm.
It was left-handed batter Tom Alsop, who walked in at quantity three and scored a combating 135 runs off 277 balls, staying on the crease for 365 minutes, to stabilise the Sussex innings alongside along with his stand-in captain. Alsop was dismissed within the 93rd over by Helm, bringing an finish to a 219-run partnership for the third wicket.
Pujara, then again, took on the seamers and performed the function of the aggressor, from the opposite finish, and upped the scoring fee. He completed the day with 115 runs off 182 balls and helped his group go previous 300. After Alsop was dismissed, Archie Lenham adopted shortly after, as he acquired out in the identical over for a three-ball duck. By the tip of Day 1, Sussex completed with 338 for the lack of 4 wickets in 96 overs. The choose of the Middlesex bowlers was seamer Helm with three wickets for 63 runs.
