Cheteshwar Pujara becomes just the fourth Indian and 43rd man in history to carry his bat in a Test
The men who lasted the distance
It's one of the most exclusive groups in Test cricket and today it welcomed its 43rd member.
India's Cheteshwar Pujara, recalled for the third Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo, today became just the fourth Indian in Test history to carry his bat when he finished unbeaten on 145 in the tourists' first innings of 312.
Sri Lanka v India: Pujara puts tourists in control
It is just the 49th instance in the 138-year history of Test cricket that an opener has finished not out in a completed innings.
Pujara is the ninth man this century to achieve the feat and the first since David Warner finished unbeaten on 123 against New Zealand in Hobart almost four years ago.
To underline the rarity of the feat, just five men have carried their bat more than once in Tests.
Australia's Bill Lawry and Bill Woodfull, England's Len Hutton and New Zealand's Glenn Turner did it twice, while West Indian legend Desmond Haynes is the only man to have done it three times.
Turner has the unique record of holding one of the lowest scores as well as the highest for players to have carried their bat.
The New Zealand opener scored 43 not out in a score of 131 against England at Lord's in 1969, and then less than three years later carried his bat for 223 against the West Indies in Kingston.
While most instances involve the batsman scoring a sizeable century, it has not always been the case.
Five times a batsman has carried his bat without having passed fifty; the first instance was that of Bernard Tancred, who scored an unbeaten 26 in South Africa's total of 47 against England in 1889.
PLAYERS WHO HAVE CARRIED THEIR BAT THIS CENTURY
- Javed Omar (Bangladesh)
85* out of 168 v Zimbabwe, Bulawayo, 2001 - Virender Sehwag (India)
201* out of 329 v Sri Lanka, Galle, 2008 - Simon Katich (Australia)
131* out of 268 v New Zealand, Brisbane, 2008 - Chris Gayle (West Indies)
165* out of 317 v Australia, Adelaide, 2009 - Imran Farhat (Pakistan)
117* out of 223 v New Zealand, Napier, 2009 - Rahul Dravid (India)
146* out of 300 v England, The Oval, 2011 - Tino Mawoyo (Zimbabwe)
163* out of 412 v Pakistan, Bulawayo, 2011 - David Warner (Australia)
123* out of 233 v New Zealand, Hobart, 2011 - Cheteshwar Pujara (India)
145* out of 312 v Sri Lanka, Colombo, 2015