Rajat Patidar (Source: @BCCIdomestic/X.com)
Another day, another ton for Madhya Pradesh skipper Rajat Patidar in the ongoing Ranji Trophy game against Punjab. Thanks to his impressive performance, MP have taken a 73-run lead over Punjab after bowling them out for 232.
Patidar smashes a convincing century vs Punjab; bails MP out of trouble
It turned out to be another special day for MP captain Rajat Patidar, who played a blistering unbeaten 107-run knock against Punjab, off 185 deliveries with 12 boundaries, as he helped MP get to a decent total as they gathered a lead of 73 runs over Punjab in the ongoing Ranji Trophy elite clash against their rivals at the Emerald Heights International School ground in Indore.
Consuming just 160 deliveries for his century, Patidar smashed 12 boundaries as he kept the momentum going. On a wicket that was turning, with batters having trouble facing the Punjab spinners, Patidar displayed his class.
All this happened after Punjab were cleaned up for 232 in their first innings, thanks to Saransh Jain’s six-wicket haul. In return, Madhya Pradesh lost their first four wickets for 155. Despite that, skipper Patidar entered the crease and made his presence felt alongside Venkatesh Iyer, who played outstandingly well for his 73.
By the time of stumps on day two of the Ranji Trophy, Patidar had 107 runs not out after his name off 185 deliveries as MP had 305 for 6 after the conclusion of 93 overs, giving them a lead of 73 runs.
Patidar gets red-ball mojo going with consistent knocks under pressure
His consistent scores in the Duleep and Irani Trophy were followed by this outstanding century by Patidar. Firstly, in the Duleep Trophy playing for Central Zone, he scored 125 and 66 respectively against North East Zone, while against the West Zone, he only got to bat in one innings, where he scored 77.
Next up were the South Zone team, against whom he smashed a brilliant 101 and played a 30-run knock in the second innings.
All this was then followed by a 66-run knock against Vidarbha in the Irani Cup, as he turned out to be the highest scorer for the Rest of India side in this encounter against the last year's Ranji champions.
In the last eight red-ball innings in domestic cricket, Patidar has three centuries to his name, alongside three half-centuries, as he continues to revive his red-ball career in a bid to make a comeback into the Indian Test side.
Overall in first-class cricket so far, he has 5,303 runs under his belt in 124 innings, with 16 centuries to his name, alongside 27 half-centuries. Previously, Patidar has featured in three games for India, where he could only manage to score 63 runs with the bat in six innings, and will hope to gather attention once again with the bat in the white jersey.