When Nikhil Patwardhan walked out to bat in the Ranji Trophy match against champions Mumbai on Wednesday, winning a personal battle was on his mind.
His team, Madhya Pradesh, was struggling at 88 for 4, but, without the burden of a reputation to protect, he ground the opposition and ended up scoring an unbeaten 80 from 255 balls.
Patwardhan was keen on proving a point to Mumbai's coach and former Madhya Pradesh captain Chandrakant Pandit.
"Somewhere in the heart I had this thing that I should score against Mumbai and prove myself to Pandit. I was out for four years during his [Pandit's] captaincy," Patwardhan said after the second day's play.
Patwardhan made his Ranji debut for Madhya Pradesh in the 1997-98 season, but was forced to sit on the bench thereafter. He only returned to the side in the 2002-03.
Pandit though praised the middle-order batsman for his application.
"He has always been a player who plays within his limitations. He applied himself very well and to add almost a hundred runs and stay that long at the wicket is really creditable," he said.
At the end of the first day, Madhya Pradesh were reeling at 164 for 7. Patwardhan, with the help of the tail-enders, added 91 runs on Wednesday and batted out the first session, using up valuable time for Mumbai.
The 27-year-old played a lot more positively on the second day and remained undefeated in his cause.
Madhya Pradesh's innings folded shortly after the lunch interval on the second day, at 255, but the runs Patwardhan scored could prove vital in Madhya Pradesh gaining the first innings lead.
"Yesterday I went in just an hour before tea. I had to see out the team till the end of play and had to play more cautiously. Today, once I got my eye in, I started playing more strokes," said Patwardhan,
"It was one of my best knocks. It was the first time I thought I lived up to my own expectations. I lacked in patience earlier," he confessed.
Madhya Pradesh are playing in the Elite Division for the first time, and scoring runs against a superior bowling attack was satisfying for Patwardhan.
"It was an inexperienced Mumbai attack, but getting runs against an Elite team is always good. But they did bowl a long way outside the off stump. You may call it negative bowling, but it was positive for them since they got wickets," he said.
