Rajat Paliwal’s 21st first-class ton: A century without knowing it was coming

Service Captain Rajat Paliwal (right) and the manual scoreboard at Palam’s Air Force Complex Ground. (Photos: Pratyush Raj) NEW DELHI: Ravikant has been maintaining Palam’s air complex for the last 35 years. A key member of the ground staff, he also doubles as a scoreboard operator. But when cricket resumed after the COVID pandemic, he received an unusual request from services captain Rajat Paliwal: he didn’t want his name displayed on the scoreboard while batting.Ravikant, a bit hesitant at first, agreed.“Everyone has their own superstition. He applied and I accepted,” Ravikant said.On Monday, the 34-year-old Paliwal smashed his 21st first-class century to rescue the Services, which were reeling at 27 for three, and take them to 266 on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Group C clash against Delhi. He remained unbeaten on 111 off 196 balls.With no name appearing on the scoreboard against Batsman 2 (Paliwal), the veteran batsman had no way of knowing how close he was to his century. He finally realized he had reached the milestone thanks to the reaction of the Delhi fielders who started to close in around him.“I knew I was nearing a century when I saw more fielders around me. I realized I had scored a hundred only because of the reaction of the Delhi players,” he told reporters at the end of the opening day.

Manual scorecard at Palam Air Complex in New Delhi. (Photo: Pratyush Raj)

“I started this practice sometime after Covid. Sometimes I felt a little nervous and lost my focus. The scoreboard is distracting, so I dropped it completely to focus only on the game,” he added.This was Paliwal’s highest score of the season so far and he called it particularly special. When he walked out to bat, Services were staring at the prospect of being bowled out for less than 100. But Paliwal stood up for his team as he had done for almost a decade and a half.“This hundred is very special, especially as the team lost four wickets for 44 runs and we needed that knock. It came after a long time and at a critical moment before the break to set the tone for the next phase,” he said.

Yes, I’m looking at Paras as an example. He has crossed 10,000 runs in first-class cricket and has been remarkably consistent. He also won the Ranji Trophy title last year. His persistence and consistency are inspiring.

Rajat Paliwal on Paras Dogra

Paliwal, who will turn 35 in December, knows his chances of breaking into the Indian team are limited now. However, he continues to draw inspiration from Jammu and Kashmir captain Paras Dogra (41), with whom he remains in regular contact.“Yes, I look at Paras as an example. He has crossed 10,000 runs in first-class cricket and has been remarkably consistent. He also won the Ranji Trophy last year. His perseverance and consistency is inspiring. Paras has been an inspiration in that regard. He became a Ranji Trophy champion in his forties. When you see him at that age, he keeps believing in himself, as he says.“Yashpal (Singh) is another player who influenced me a lot. He scored a lot of runs and played with me for four or five years when I started. We had some very good partnerships together,” he added.

Nagpur: Services batsman Rajat Paliwal plays a shot during the first day of the Ranji Trophy cricket match between Services and Vidarbha in Nagpur. (PTI Photo)(

A stalwart of the Indian domestic cricket circuit, Paliwal believes the love for first-class cricket is far from dying out in the country. As an example of the continued appetite for the longer format, he cited his Delhi counterpart, Ayush Badoni, who scored two centuries.“It’s true that cricket has become a lot faster. There is a lot of emphasis on T20 cricket throughout the year because of the exposure, media coverage and attention it gets. But you can’t categorize players like that. If you look at Badoni, he has scored two double centuries at the trot. Badoni is my rival but I would appreciate him because it is not easy to score back-to-back double hundreds.“Each player has individual priorities and approaches the game differently. Everyone has their preferences and ambitions. Some want to make it in this format, others prefer the shorter formats. But I believe many players still try to play in the longest format,” he continued.