County Championship 2022: Sussex’s Cheteshwar Pujara upper-cuts Middlesex’s Shaheen Afridi for a huge six

Cheteshwar Pujara scored a century in the second innings of Sussex's match against Middlesex and is currently the third-highest run-scorer in the competition.

Cheteshwar Pujara has been in tremendous form ever since he started playing for Sussex in the County Championship Division 2. The Indian batter is currently third in the list of leading run-scorer in the tournament, having already notched 672 runs from four matches at an average of 134.40 with four centuries to show for his efforts.

After getting scores of 201*, 109 and 203 in his first three outings against Derbyshire, Worcestershire and Durham, the 34-year-old notched a century against Middlesex as well. In the first innings, Ethan Bamber got rid of him after he scored only 16 runs off 10 balls. But the right-handed Pujara well and truly made amends in the second innings.

Fourth match, fourth 100+ score.It's a privilege to watch, @cheteshwar1. pic.twitter.com/IF8nLUt9Yg

At the close of play on the third day, Pujara stayed unbeaten on 125 runs off 149 balls with the help of 16 fours and two sixes. One of his sixes, in the meantime, came of ace Pakistan speedster Shaheen Shah Afridi. The left-arm pacer already got 11 wickets in the competition, including the big wickets of Marnus Labuschagne.

Afridi tried to pepper Pujara with some short deliveries, but the latter was up to the task. In one of the deliveries, the batter rocked back onto the backfoot and churned out the upper cut. Pujara found the middle of the willow and the ball sailed over the ropes with utmost ease.