Chilly mornings and the picturesque view of aeroplanes descending towards the Delhi Airport near the Air Force Ground at Palam are the two constants while covering the Ranji Trophy at this time of the year. Another constant here has always been the home team Services’ fighting spirit and on Day 2 of the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy fixture against Puducherry, the same came to the fore in skipper Rajat Paliwal and No.3 batter, Gahlaut Rahul Singh.
Services had come into this game with just one point from three matches but started the match yesterday on a bright note with the bowlers bundling out the visitors for 216 in the first innings. Rahul and Paliwal thoroughly dominated with the bat and notched up individual tons on the second day.
After a rather solid start, Services lost the way losing three quick wickets and went from 100 for no loss to 143/3. Enter the new No.3, Singh, and Services’ Man Friday – Paliwal. Rahul and Paliwal stitched a 140-run stand for the fourth wicket to drive their team ahead yet again.
“I’m batting at a new position now. So, it’s pretty good for me and it is giving me confidence. I have batted in the middle-order my whole life but now I have got the opportunity to bat at three. It’s a kind of new thing for me but I’m enjoying it,” Rahul said in an exclusive chat with CricketNext.
The Rahul-Paliwal show
Being in a spot of bother, Services needed the in-form batters to steady the ship for the side and they did exactly that Rahul has so far scored 0 & 10 (against Karnataka), 0 & 71 (vs Chhattisgarh) and 60 & 36 against Jharkhand while Paliwal has scored 124 against Karnataka, 4 & 58 against Chhattisgarh and 76 & 17 against Jharkhand
Singh’s knock was decorated with some delightful strokes. While the left-handed batter was cautious in his approach, he didn’t really shy from putting away the ones in his arc. When he reached the milestone, Rahul didn’t have any animated celebrations and just raised the bat once. Later, when he was asked about the same, the Services batter said that he just looks to keep on adding as many runs as he can.
“My celebrations aren’t really animated. I just look to keep on playing.”
Rahul was eventually dismissed for 137 off 191 which included three maximums and 14 fours after he hit one straight to Sridhar Ashwath on the off side of Damodaran Rohit.
“I’m feeling really good after notching up a ton. Have missed out on achieving the milestone in the last three innings so, it’s a pretty good feeling.”
The batter expressed his disappointment about getting out after getting his eye.
“Obviously, I was looking to get some more runs. I was a bit disappointed with the way I got out. But it happens. That’s part and parcel of the game,” he said.
Skipper Paliwal on the other hand, made 101 before getting dismissed by Sagar Udeshi.
“It feels really good when you make a contribution to the team. It hasn’t been a good run for us in the competition so far but we are now eyeing a win,” the captain said.
Services eye crucial points
Services have put themselves in a strong position to push for an outright win or maybe the bonus point as well, but they are thinking too far ahead.
“Look, first we are focusing on taking as much lead as we can, maybe a 250+ and then get them out early. So, yes we are looking for the bonus point,” Rahul said.
“Talking about this particular game, we needed to take a big lead and then think about the outright (win),” he added.
“We are still focusing on giving our best and playing to our strengths. We still have three games after this so if we get good points in this game, we can carry forward the momentum in the upcoming fixtures.”
Paliwal too echoed what Rahul had mentioned but added that the side will need to focus on bowling in good areas.
“Look, that is there in the back of the mind but we also need to focus on the process. We will need to bowl in good areas,” he said.
“We are just focusing on taking maximum points from this game. So far, so good. We are moving in the right direction for now.”
What’s on offer?
The Services bowlers dominated the show on the first day with the ball while the Puducherry spinners did get some purchase from the track in the first innings as well. For instance, Udeshi cleaned up Paliwal on a delivery that was quick and slightly turned away from him after pitching to breach his defence.
Considering the conditions on the third and fourth days, Rahul said that the pitch has something on offer for both spinners and pacers and noted that the hosts will have to bowl in good areas in the second innings.
“It’s helping the spinners. We thought that it will help the fast bowlers at the start but on the second day, the spinners were turning the ball really nicely. So, overall, it’s a pretty nice track for both spinners and the pacers and we need to bowl in good areas,” Rahul noted.
Services ended the day’s play at 378/5, leading by 162.
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