A Gujarati has broken another Gujarati's long-standing important record. And how. India's premier Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara made his 12th double century (a polished 204 in 566 minutes and 355 balls with 28 fours) in first-class cricket at the Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground in Rajkot yesterday, for Saurashtra against Jharkhand, to surpass the legendary Vijay Merchant, a Gujarati who played for Mumbai and India. Merchant had 11 scores of 200-plus to his credit. Now, only Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji, affectionately called Ranji, is the only Indian ahead of Pujara with 14 double hundreds, although it must be emphasised that the prince of the erstwhile state of Nawanagar played all his first-class cricket for Sussex and England.

Saurashtra's Cheteshwar Pujara. Pic/AFP