"Waiting for so long is common in Indian cricket" - Rajat Patidar after his Test debut

Indian batter Rajat Patidar made his Test debut in the second Test against England in Vizag. He was added to the squad ahead of the first Test as Virat Kohli’s replacement but got his chance in the second Test. India ended the day on 336/6 in 93 overs.

Patidar walked out to bat at number five and scored 32 off 72 balls in his debut Test innings. He added 70 runs for the fourth wicket with Yashasvi Jaiswal who ended the day on 179. Every Indian batter got starts but failed to convert it into a big score.

Rajat Patidar was selected ahead of Sarfaraz Khan to play in the second Test. His selection had mixed opinions within the Indian cricket fans and fraternity. However, till the ball that dismissed him, he looked pretty settled and looked good to get a big one.

Also Read: Kevin Pietersen claims England are ahead in the game despite Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 179* in Vizag Test

After the end of the day’s play, Patidar spoke about his Test debt and said it was a dream come true moment for him. He debuted at the age of 30 and was a fair late bloomer.

Dream Come True Moment: Rajat Patidar On His Test Debut

“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 lot of games in domestic cricket. I slept well last night. It was normal for me. 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 hundreds against Lions were very crucial for me.”Patidar said after the close of play.

He further spoke about the long wait that he had to endure on his way to making his Test debut. He almost scored 4000 first-class runs before making his Test debut for India at the age of 30.

“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.

The batter also spoke on Yashasvi Jaiswal‘s unbeaten knock and the crucial partnership the duo had for the fourth wicket.

“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. The wicket is really good to bat on. We will try to bat as long as we can” Patidar concluded saying.

India looked good to score above 450 on the first day but timely scalps by England’s bowlers meant that India finished way short of where they would have loved to finish. Rehan Ahmed and debutant Shoaib Bashir picked two each while Tom Hartley and James Anderson picked one each.

Also Read: Watch: “Sehwag ki yad dilwa di” – Mohammad Kaif hails Yashasvi Jaiswal during “Biwi ke sawaal” session