Anuj Rawat and Sujal Singh made history in this Delhi Premier League match between East Delhi and Purani Dilli 6 by having the second-highest opening partnership in Twenty20 cricket history, at 241.
Rawat, who represented Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League, and Sujal both made hundreds while putting the opposition bowlers to shame.
After scoring 258/0 in 20 overs against China in February of this year, Japan’s Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake (134) and Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming (109) hold the record for the highest T20 partnership for the first wicket.
Sujal hit nine sixes and seven fours to score 108 off 57 balls, while Anuj blasted eleven sixes and six fours to make 121 from just 66 balls.
Purani Dilli made 215/8 in 20 overs, however they were short of 242 by 26 runs.
Anuj told the media on Thursday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, “We are really happy because as the game progressed and the shots started to flow it became possible.” At first, we did not think we would both score our respective hundreds.
Communication, according to Sujal, is essential to stitching the enormous opening stand.
“I wouldn’t say our strategy was planned; it was just about playing the game as it unfolded,” he remarked.
“We made each other comfortable with the communication which was simple as I was taking the opportunity to score boundaries and when I was struggling, Anuj was taking the initiative, so this communication worked wonders for us,” he added.
Sujal also effused praise on Anuj for helping him.
“I get to learn a lot as Anuj is also very friendly with us youngsters. We get a lot of confidence as well after talking to him and he shares his experience which is also very valuable to us,” he said.
“I am batting with Anuj for the first time in this tournament and I am grateful to bat with him because he has had a big role to play for me because when any youngster performs then a senior’s role becomes important there.”
Sujal isn’t thinking about the IPL auction despite his stunning century.
“My plan is just to play the same kind of knock I played, my job starts with batting on the wicket and ends there and aside from that I am not thinking much about it (IPL auction),” he stated.
With Dinesh Karthik’s retirement, Rawat is now in the lead in the RCB lineup, but he isn’t planning too far ahead because there will be a huge auction in the IPL.
“It’s only the performance that is in our hands, buying or retaining a player in the auction is something that is up to the franchises. But if we focus more on our job to score runs then the rest will take care of itself,” he said.
