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Rajat Patidar leads Central Zone with a brilliant 80-ball century in Duleep Trophy against North-East Zone, boosting his claim for an Indian team spot.
Rajat Patidar scored a brilliant hundred against North-East (Picture credit: BCCI)
Star India batter and Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar smashed an 80-ball hundred against the North-East Zone while leading the Central Zone in a Duleep Trophy clash on Thursday, staking a claim for a middle-order spot in the Indian team, which he once lost due to poor returns.
Patidar smacked 18 boundaries and two sixes to reach the three-figure mark. It was the 14th hundred in first-class cricket for him.
Patidar, who came in to bat after wicketkeeper Aryan Juyal had to retire hurt on 60, brought up his fifty in just 42 deliveries. In the same innings, Vidarbha batter Danish Malewar scored a 144-ball hundred as well.
At tea break, Central Zone’s total was 314/1 with Patidar (111 not out) and Malewar (132 not out) in the middle.
Wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, who had replaced the injured Rishabh Pant in India’s series-levelling victory over England at the Oval, was supposed to lead Central Zone with Patidar named his deputy.
But Jurel was ruled out of the quarterfinal clash against North-East after he complained of a groin niggle.
Star India pacer Khaleel Ahmed, Deepak Chahar and Kuldeep Yadav are all part of the Central XI facing North East.
The two semifinals will be played at BCCI’s Centre of Excellence ground from September 4, while the final will be staged from September 11 at the same venue.
Patidar has been out of action since he led Bengaluru to a maiden Indian Premier League title in June. He scored 312 runs in 14 matches at an average of 24 and a strike rate of 143.77, but what caught the eye was his brilliant leadership, which broke RCB’s title jinx.
“One of the most impressive things about what Rajat has done this year is, as an inexperienced captain, that he hasn’t been affected by it. I don’t think it has affected his batting because I’ve watched him really closely as a character and he is still the lovely, gentle, polite Rajat Patidar that we knew last year,” RCB coach Andy Flower had said after the final.
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