Visakhapatnam: Years of toil on the domestic circuit made Rajat Patidar fully equipped for his red-ball India debut and day one of the second Test against England was just another "normal" day in the life of the 30-year-old late bloomer.
Patidar, who made his first-class debut with Madhya Pradesh way back in 2015, knew that he was going to be part of the playing eleven a day before the game. Having recently scored back-to-back hundreds against England Lions for India A, Patidar went into the big game high on confidence.
He looked assured in his 72-ball 32 and one of his three boundaries came via a reverse sweep. He could not convert the start as he played on while going for a forward-defensive shot against leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed. "It was a dream come true moment for me. Representing the country is a dream for every player. Going into the middle, there was no pressure as I have played a lot of games in domestic cricket. I slept well last night. It was normal for me," Patidar said after the close of play.
"I have also played two series at the A level (NZ and England). It gives a lot of confidence when you play at that level. I gained in confidence playing against the Lions (recently). The two hundred against Lions were very crucial for me."
The Test debut on Friday and ODI cap last month came after a major setback for Patidar, who missed the whole of IPL last year due to an achilles heel injury that required surgery. On the long wait for his Test debut, he said: "Waiting for so long is common in Indian cricket (laughs). There are lot of players. I was just focussing on things that are in my hands. So at the age of 30 I came here, feeling pretty good," said Patidar, who was handed his Test cap by former pacer Zaheer Khan.
He also praised Yashavi Jaiswal's special effort as he singlehandedly took India to 336 for six with an unbeaten 179 off 257 balls. "We (Yashasvi and I) were talking about taking the game as long as possible. My innings, it was good but I have to make it big. Talking about Yashavi, he is a very good player. The way he takes on the bowlers, he has special ability in him."
Heading into day two, Patidar said, "The wicket is really good to bat on. We will try to bat as long as we can."
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