County Championship: Cheteshwar Pujara hits ton & Steve Smith makes 30 as Sussex dominate

Sussex skipper Cheteshwar Pujara hit his third ton in four games this season

Cheteshwar Pujara hit his eighth Sussex century in 12 County Championship matches to help earn a big first-innings lead against Worcestershire.

The prolific Pujara made 136, his third ton in four games this season and the India batter's second in consecutive visits to New Road, as he passed 1,500 runs for Sussex.

Steve Smith, warming up for next month's Ashes series, made 30, while Fynn Hudson-Prentice weighed in with 54 as Sussex posted 373.

The Pears then closed after a bad-light break on 34-1, for the loss of just opener Jake Libby, another victim for England's Ollie Robinson, to add to his seven scalps in the first innings.

After resuming on 63-1, Sussex got off to a bad start when they quickly lost overnight pair Tom Alsop and Ali Orr.

That brought in Smith, who was decent value for money, hitting five fours with that trademark lightsabre waft in an entertaining 30 in just over an hour, which included a 10-minute helmet change break.

Smith is also set to play in Sussex's next two County Championship matches

But he was trapped leg before wicket by Tongue and, when James Coles followed, Sussex were 145-5 - and still trailing the Pears by 119.

But Pujara shared two important partnerships - the first worth 66 with Oli Carter (23), then a further 113 with Hudson-Prentice before Robinson welted two sixes and four fours to hit 33 out of a further stand of 38.

And Pujara himself was simply imperious, a chanceless 189-ball knock lasting almost five hours, in which he went slowly through the gears to finish with 19 fours and an almost contemptuous six over third man.

He was finally trapped by Tongue, the second of three wickets for the fit-again England Lions paceman, while former Pears skipper Joe Leach also finished with three wickets.