Debutant Rajat Patidar, who made his Test debut at the age of 30 on Friday, said that it was common for players to get into the national team late, and added that there was no pressure on him as he went out to face the first ball.
“Waiting for so long is very common in Indian cricket because there are a lot of players. I was concentrating on the things that were in my control. At the age of 30, I came here, and it feels good,” Patidar said with a chuckle after the end of the first day of the second Test between India and England in Visakhapatnam.
“It was a dream come true moment for me. Representing the country is a dream for every player. It was the happiest moment for me. There was no pressure on me because I have played a lot of games in domestic cricket on this track,” he added.
Patidar plays a shot during Day 1 of 2nd Test match against England, in Visakhapatnam on Friday. | Photo Credit: BCCI-X
Patidar, who made his One-Day International debut in South Africa in December, has been scoring runs consistently on the domestic circuit and boasts of an average of 45.97 in 93 First-Class innings in a career spanning nine years.
The Madhya Pradesh batter was called into the squad for the first two Tests as a replacement for Virat Kohli, who made himself unavailable due to personal reasons.
Patidar made a case for himself by smashing two hundreds against the visiting England Lions team, which is playing India ‘A’ on a shadow tour, and pipped Sarfaraz Khan to the playing XI on Friday.
“Coming into such a series, where there are a lot of star players in both teams, it gives you confidence when you prepare well ahead of the series. The two hundreds I made against England Lions, that was very crucial for me,” he said.
Talking about the main difference between facing the Lions and England’s senior team, Patidar said that it lay in the quality of fast bowling.
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With the 41-year-old James Anderson being the only pacer in England’s ranks for this game, it was evidently a tip of the cap to the evergreen legend.
The right-hander, who scored a 72-ball 32 during a 70-run partnership with Yashasvi Jaiswal for the fourth wicket, rated his innings as ‘good’, but said he needed to ‘make it big’.
Though he looked at ease and played the only reverse-sweep India attempted on the day, Patidar was a bit unlucky as Rehan Ahmed’s top spinner went off the inside edge of the bat and bounced into the stumps.
Patidar watching his bail fall, bowled out by England’s Rehan Ahmed during the first day of the second Test cricket match between India and England in Visakhapatnam. | Photo Credit: K.R Deepak / The Hindu
India lost three wickets in the final session, including that of Patidar, and ended with a slightly disappointing 336 for six at Stumps.
Patidar said the pitch was ‘really good’ to bat on and India will hope to pile on the runs on Saturday with Jaiswal, unbeaten on 179, still at the crease.
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