The man, for and through, all seasons

It's India vs Australia in Bangalore, a Test from which there is no active player at the international level left, barring the one that made his debut. In the now-famous promotion up the order, a clean-shaven 21-year-old Pujara was actively stepping out to the spinner, Nathan Hauritz, toying with his lengths and driving and flicking with ease as India chased down 207 thanks mainly to Cheteshwar Pujara's 72, riddled with seven boundaries and a strike-rate a shade over 80. India remained No. 1 in the Test rankings after the win.

It was India vs Australia in 2013. India go into the Delhi Test, the fourth of the series, with a makeshift opener after Shikhar Dhawan is injured. That makeshift opener is hit on the finger during the game, but goes on to score twin fifties. The second of which is a now largely-forgotten classic. On a pitch that resembled the ones more in fashion in recent times at home, the third day had seen 12 wickets fall, including Australia being bowled out for 164, leaving India with ten fewer to get on a pitch that was venomous. The chase is led by Pujara's counterattack, a stunning 82 off 92 balls where he remains unbeaten. India stutter briefly losing Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar and Ajinkya Rahane in the space of 17 balls for five runs. Pujara responds to finish it off in a hurry, hitting three consecutive boundaries off Maxwell as India complete a whitewash over Australia at home.

It's India vs England in 2012 in Mumbai. They are caught unawares by a stunning collapse against the spin duo of Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar running through a much-vaunted Indian batting order at home. Only one man from the top order was still resisting them. Fresh off a double hundred at Ahmedabad, Pujara sees off a tricky period against the new ball and then is the only batter comfortable enough to toy with the quick spin on offer at the Wankhede. He's still not able to score runs off that spin duo, with the strike-rate against them only in the 30s but he does not let that gift them their wicket as he grinds his way out to 135 off 451 balls. It still goes in vain as India loses the Test and then the series but Pujara remains unconquered.

It's India vs South Africa in Johannesburg, India have taken a slender lead of 36 but as conditions progressively get better for batting, that is not going to be enough. Answering their call for a big dig-in is Pujara once again with a neat 153, lasting close to a full day's play. India are unable to push for victory despite being ahead by 450-plus, but they are saved from defeat as well thanks to the lead.

It's India vs Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2015, and Virat Kohli's maiden captaincy stint for a full series. India first reverse a 0-1 deficit and in the decider, a Pujara classic seals the deal. Coming back into the side after losing his spot, and then made to open the innings, Pujara carried his bat for 145 in Colombo, leading India to 312 in the first innings and setting up victory on a surface that later deteriorated as expected.

This is not new territory for Pujara, and is close to the one that he most relishes and revels in. Batting time and grinding out an opposition is what he fashions his batting around. And it becomes an invaluable asset for India when they tour England in 2018, when he ensured that he blunted out the wildly seaming Dukes new ball and softened it nearly every time he walked to the crease.

A similar approach in Australia proved to be a tortuous one for the opposition as he bats for 1258 balls and sets up India's first-ever Test series victory in the country. He also makes 'balls faced' a talking point in Test cricket once again, harking back to an era seemingly forgotten.

It's perhaps also fitting in some ways that it is he who is carrying that baton forward for Pujara is amongst the few connecting different generations of India's batting. He was a No. 3 when Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were closer to the ends of their careers, he gave India the solidity it needed when the transition phase happened. A number of openers were tried, dropped, shuffled and shunted but what stabilised India through it all was The Pujara Constant. With Tendulkar below him he had four partnerships of over fifty including one over hundred, and peaked with the likes of Murali Vijay with whom he had a partnership average of 62 including 10 100-plus stands and Virat Kohli below him with whom he put on fifty-plus 25 times including seven 100-plus stands. That has carried on to the next generation as well. With Rishabh Pant, he already has two hundred-plus stands and five fifty-plus stands in just 10 innings.

As seen in the small sample collection of innings above, you'd find the runs and contributions coming in a variety of situations of the game, different partners, across conditions and over a sizable period of 13 years and counting, leaving the Indian coach Rahul Dravid showering praise.

"Playing a 100 Test matches is a reflection of your longevity. And there, your fitness, your resilience, your ability to handle success and failure [matters]. Because in a journey where you play a hundred Test matches, it's impossible to have not gone through the ups and downs. And that's a part of this journey - you have to wade through such times, you have to play a variety of bowling, and you're asked various questions on and off the field because it takes about a decade to play a hundred Tests. And what Pujara has done in the 13-14 years at the highest level is a big achievement. It's a tribute to his skill, without doubt, but [also] tribute to so many other things like I have mentioned.

"He's one of the most popular members of the team and everybody is happy for him for his 100th Test. And we hope that in not just this Test match, but he'll keep doing well in the future as well like the way he's been doing for India for a while now. If you look at the last decade of Indian cricket, Cheteshwar Pujara has played very important, very crucial innings for the country winning India matches and series over this period.

"And we're all very happy that we can celebrate this moment with him," said Dravid.

It's India vs Australia again in Delhi, and this time Pujara is out there trying something new with his approach to tackling spin. His short outing in Nagpur was evidence of an attacking approach to spin, which is perhaps dictated by the challenging conditions on offer where grinding oppositions out aren't necessarily a guarantee of runs later. He's also part of another batting transition in the Indian line-up. There are newer challenges in the offing, but with the evidence of what he's done over 99 Tests, India will be counting on Pujara to deliver yet again.