"Have been practicing some shots"- Cheteshwar Pujara on his fastest test ton in 1st test vs BAN ahead of IPL Auction

India comprehensively won the first test against Bangladesh in Chattogram by 188 runs. This win helped India to take an 1-0 unassaible lead in two-match series. The first test saw some of the old performers coming into their best and performing for India.

Kuldeep Yadav was awarded "Man of the Match" for taking 8 wickets in the game and scoring 40 crucial runs in the first inning for India. But it was vice captain Cheteshwar Pujara who finished the game with the most runs.

He was out for 90 runs with 11 boundaries, missing out on a well-deserved century in the first inning. But he followed it up with a brilliant century in the second inning and made an unbeaten 102 runs off 130 balls, with 13 boundaries, to bring up his 19th test century and a century after 40 months.

Notably, this was also his fastest century in his 12-year-long career. He batted at a strike rate of 78.46, which was totally uncharacteristic for the veteran Indian batter. However, the 34-year-old reckons that his 90-run inning in the first test was more valuable for him.

In a discussion after the win in the first test, Pujara said that he was not expecting to score a century in the second inning. The 34-year-old added that the knock in the first inning was more special for him.

Pujara said, "By tea, I was close to 50 but I never realised there was enough time to get to a hundred. It went really well; I have been practicing some shots so it really helped me in this particular game. For me, the first innings one where I missed out on a hundred was an important knock for the team."

The win in the first Test gave India a push in the World Test Championship. India has moved up to second place after Australia thrashed South Africa by six wickets in the first game at the Gabba. India's chances are looking quite good now, and they have five more games to play in the ongoing WTC cycle.

India needs to win all five games or at least four out of five to have a direct chance of qualifying for the WTC final. However, it will be an uphill task to beat Australia 4-0, even at home. Thus, Pujara also knows that it will be difficult, and the team needs to show a great performance for this.