Out-of-favour India batter Rajat Patidar, who failed to find a place in the side's 15-member squad for Asia Cup, has been dominating run-getter charts for in Duleep Trophy. Captaining Central Zone, the 32-year-old continued his stunning form in the tournament by scoring a fabulous century in the final against South Zone. He brought up his century after facing 112 deliveries and the knock included 12 boundaries and two maximums.
Patidar eventually got dismissed by Gurjapneet Singh on 101 runs, but his knock was enough to get Central Zone into a healthy lead of over 100 runs after South Zone had been bundled out for 149 in their first innings. Notably, the batter has recorded 50+ scores in each of the four innings that he has played in the tournament so far and currently has 369 runs under his name.
The 32-year-old had come out to bat with Central Zone at 74/2. They soon went on to lose the in-form Danish Malewar for 53 before their ship was steadied by the duo of Patidar and Yash Rathod. Both the batters smacked South Zone bowlers all around the stadium and went on to form a massive partnership of 167 runs. This saw the Central Zone take a good lead and soon, Rathod also went on to score a hundred.
Patidar has made nothing short of a sensational start to the new domestic season and will be looking to maintain this stellar form in the upcoming tournaments as well. Coming to his performance in Duleep Trophy, the batter started the competition with a bang and played a fine knock of 125 in against North East Zone and followed that up with 66 runs in the second innings. He then played a valiant knock of 77 against West Zone in the only inning that Central Zone batted in. With his inning of 101 against South Zone, Patidar overtook Ayush Badoni and became the highest run-scorer of the tournament.
Patidar's international career
Meanwhile, Patidar has so far featured for India in three Tests and an ODI. His batting performance in these matches wasn't that impressive and it led to him getting dropped from the team. His last appearance for the Men in Blue came in February, 2024 and he hasn't been able to make his way back into the team ever since. He will be hoping to impress the selectors by performing well at the domestic circuit which will see him make his case strong for a return to the national side.