Rajat Patidar slams 151 in unofficial Test versus England Lions
Rajat Patidar smoked a sensational century against England Lions in the ongoing 1st unofficial Test in Ahmedabad. It was indeed an innings of character from Patidar as none of his teammates could touch the 25-run mark. He batted with remarkable intent and ended up scoring 151 off 158 balls, a knock laced with 19 boundaries and five maximums. Here we look at his stats.
A valiant knock from Patidar
Responding to England Lions's first innings total of 553/8d, India A suffered a shocking collapse. Five of India's top-seven batters were dismissed under 10 as India lost seven wickets inside 100 runs. Patidar, who batted at three, backed his attacking game and fought alone. He recorded half-century stands with tail-enders Pulkit Narang (18) and Tushar Deshpande (23) as India A finished at 227/10.
4,000 FC runs loading for Patidar
Playing his 55th First-Class game, Patidar has raced to 3,996 runs with his average being over 45. While this was his 12th FC ton, the tally also includes 22 half-centuries. The 30-year-old, who represents Madhya Pradesh in domestic cricket, made his international debut last month and scored a 16-ball 22 in his only ODI outing, against South Africa.
Patidar has proven his mettle in IPL
Patidar, who is a part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) set-up in the Indian Premier League (IPL), enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2022, having played a couple of sensational knocks in the playoffs. However, owing to his heel injury, he had to miss the 2023 season. As the Challengers have retained him, the right-handed batter would be raring to shine in IPL 2024.
Breakthrough IPL 2022 season
As mentioned, Patidar was on a roll in IPL 2022 as he amassed 333 runs in just eight games at a sensational average of 55.5. He struck at a staggering rate of 152.75. The tally includes a match-winning century (112*) versus Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator. In the second Qualifier, he also smothered a half-century (58) versus Rajasthan Royals (RR).
