Ranji Trophy: Ton-up Rajat Patidar leads Madhya Pradesh show

DINDIGUL: Rajat Patidar certainly seems to relish playing Tamil Nadu. The Madhya Pradesh batsman - who hit his career-best 158 in List-A cricket earlier this year against Tamil Nadu in a Vijay Hazare Trophy match - was just 28 away from registering his highest first-class score. The 25-year-old's (110 n.o., 9x4) 254-ball essay helped Madhya Pradesh end Day 1 of their Ranji clash against TN on 214 for 3 at the NPR College Ground.
What was most impressive about Patidar's innings was his ability to remain patient when run-making was tricky especially in the first hour of play.In the company Aryaman Birla (51, 6x4), Patidar stitched a 124-run second-wicket stand to help his side take control of the proceedings after they lost opener Ankit Dane (4) with 9 on board. The duo's 331-ball stand proved to be the game-changer for the visitors.
On a wicket which had sufficient assistance for the seamers in the first hour of play, the Patidar-Birla pair understandably took time to get going. While Patidar looked assured in his feet movement and stroke-making, his younger partner was tentative to start with. Birla, dropped on 11 by Abhinav Mukund at fine-leg fence with the team's total on 46 in the 16th over, tried to make full use of the reprieve. "He looked uncomfortable at the crease and I told him not to worry too much about the rate of scoring and look to stay at the crease. He did just that and showed a lot of maturity. The wicket was on the flatter side but there was assistance for the bowlers through the day. It was crucial for us to play on the merit of each ball," Patidar said at close of play. The duo raised the 50-run stand in 117 deliveries.
With the pair gaining in confidence, TN skipper Indrajith rotated his bowlers but success eluded them. Patidar appeared at ease while facing star offie R Ashwin (1-49) whom he welcomed to the crease with a boundary over mid-wicket off his very first delivery. As the day progressed, Patidar's confidence rubbed off on Birla as well who played some delightful shots on both sides of the wicket. Patidar raised his 50 in 102 balls in the first over after lunch. Soon, the pair had rung its 100-run stand from 272 deliveries.
Just when the pair's run in the middle was beginning to take dangerous proportions; Ashwin got rid of Birla - caught by B Anirudh at silly point - with MP's total reading 133 for 2. TN's joy of seeing Birla's back were short-lived as MP skipper Naman Ojha (45, 2x4, 2x6) joined hands with Patidar to add 78 runs for the third wicket to take their total past the 200-run mark. While TN had Ojha caught at slips by Indrajith off Vijay Shankar's (1-27) bowling, the presence of Patidar is bound to give a lot of headache for them as Day 2 beckons.
Debutant Abhishek Tanwar (19-6-33-0) who bowled his heart out hoped that MP will be restricted to a total below 300. "I think our bowlers did a good job and we will want to dismiss them to anything less than 300," he said.
Scoreboard: Madhya Pradesh 1st innings: AV Birla c Anirudh b Ashwin 51, A Dane c Aparajith b Mohammed 4, R Patidar batting 110, N Ojha c Indrajith b Shankar 45, S Sharma batting 0; Extras (nb 2, w2) 4; Total (For 3 wickets in 89 overs): 214; FoW: 1-9, 2-133, 3-211; Bowling: Tanwar 19-6-33-0, Mohammed 15-5-47-1, Ashwin 21-4-49-1, Shankar 12-4-27-1, Rahil 18-0-53-0, Aparajith 4-1-5-0