Rajat Patidar Likely To Debut In IND vs ENG 2nd Test Match At Vizag
Rajat Patidar in action for India A (x.com)
Madhya Pradesh cricketer Rajat Patidar will likely be making his debut through India’s second Test of their five-match series against the visiting Englishmen. Prior to the series-opening Hyderabad Test, the 30-year-old received a call-up into the Indian squad as a replacement for Virat Kohli.
Patidar recently plundered successive centuries against England Lions at Ahmedabad, and holds an overall first-class average of nearly 46 after 55 matches.
Rajat Patidar poised for a Test debut
Rajat Patidar charted 111 runs from just 141 balls while opening the innings for India A against England Lions in a tour match earlier in January at Ahmedabad. In his very next outing against the same opponents, the cricketer accounted for 151 runs out of his side’s meagre 227-run first innings total.
His successive tons earned him a surprise Test call-up to the Indian team over Virat Kohli, who opted himself out of the first couple of matches citing personal reasons.
While Rajat Patidar was benched for the first Test match at Hyderabad, recent reports indicate that the cricketer might well receive his maiden cap at India’s forthcoming Vizag challenge against the Englishmen.
Team India slumped to a 28-run larruping at Hyderabad, despite having gained a 190-run advantage at the halfway stage of the game. To make matters worse for the hosts, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and top-order batter KL Rahul were ruled out of the next match in a bid to recover from their respective injuries. Patidar will likely be replacing the latter of the two cricketers, as Rahul’s absence leaves out India’s number four slot vacant.
With India trailing 0-1 in the series, Rohit Sharma and co. will now face a ‘BazBall-radicalized’ English side between February 2 and February 6 at Vizag’s Dr. Y. S. Rajashekar Reddy ACA–VDCA Cricket Stadium.
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