da brwin： He was disappointed to miss out on a maiden first-class double ton but pushed towards his India A dream

da heads bet： Ashish Pant13-Sep-2025Yash Rathod paused for a moment right after facing his first ball on the second morning of the Duleep Trophy final. He had just been beaten by Gurjapneet Singh. Stepping away, Rathod nodded his head furiously, talking to himself, trying to calm his nerves. After a disappointing semi-final against West Zone, where he managed just 2, Rathod was determined to make amends.Two hundred and eighty five balls later, as he walked back for 194, he had done his bit in helping Central Zone close in on their first Duleep Trophy win in 11 years.It wasn’t easy initially. Central Zone were 93 for 3 in the 34th over when Rathod walked out. A first-innings lead was just 56 away, but Gurjapneet was in the middle of a searing spell. He had just flattened Shubham Sharma’s middle stump, had Danish Malewar nick to slip, and was extracting plenty of movement in overcast conditions.Rathod started tentatively, particularly against Gurjapneet, who bowled 16 straight dot balls at him. He was beaten a few times and had an early escape when he edged the quick to second slip, with the ball falling just short. Then, twice he flashed outside off against fast bowler MD Nidheesh and was lucky to get thick edges past the gully fielder. The fluency, which had fetched Rathod 960 runs in the last Ranji Trophy season, was missing.Related

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“Initially, I think I was over-trying,” Rathod told ESPNcricinfo. “When I went to bat, the situation was tricky, but the plan was to react to the ball. Gurjapneet was also hitting the right areas quite consistently. The ball was swinging and seaming off the wicket as well.”Once I got past that phase, and the spinners came on to bowl, I thought I will capitalise. I tried to dominate them before lunch, but no matter what I tried – stepping out, sweeping, or playing off the backfoot – I wasn’t connecting [with] the ball consistently. It just wasn’t clicking.”Lunch came at the right time for Rathod. At the break, as he gathered himself, focus shifting over to playing instinctively, and once back, everything fell in place. Rathod clipped Gurjapneet for four through midwicket to raise his half-century off 84 balls. Soon after, he waltzed down the track to left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma, driving him past mid-on and then through covers.A key feature of Rathod’s innings was his backfoot play. He would often go deep into his crease off Ankit, nudging him fine past slip and would pull anything that was marginally short of a length. It took Rathod just 132 balls to reach his seventh first-class century, getting there by tapping Ankit to point off the backfoot, ending the second day unbeaten on 137.

My immediate goal is to prepare myself for the Irani Trophy. If I perform there, I will get closer to my India A dream. Yes, I want to play for India, but to reach there, India A is my first stepYash Rathod

Rathod was more proactive on the third morning. He clipped Gurjapneet through midwicket in the first over and reached his 150 with a push to mid-on. He rushed through the 180s with two fours but was cleaned up by Gurjapneet shortly after lunch, falling six short of a maiden first-class double-century. He was visibly dejected as he trudged off slowly, constantly looking at the replays of his dismissal on the big screen at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.”It was very disappointing,” Rathod said on missing out on a double ton. “I have been trying to get a double-century for a while. Last year, I scored five centuries, but being a No. 5 batter, it becomes tough to score a 200 as you end your innings mostly with tailenders.”Today, I had a chance to score a double ton on such a big stage. So yes, it was quite disappointing to not score those six runs but again, very grateful for 194. Maybe there is something better lined up for me, maybe I can score a double-century in the Irani Trophy.”Rajat Patidar and Yash Rathod added 167 for the fourth wicket•PTI A highlight of Rathod’s 194 was his calmness. Once settled, at no stage did he look hurried. He was involved in two big stands – 167 for the fourth wicket with Rajat Patidar and 176 for the sixth wicket with Saransh Jain – and ensured he didn’t try to match his partner’s pace.”It doesn’t matter how the batter at the opposite end is playing. Everyone has a pattern,” Rathod said. “I can’t play like Rajat bhai. His intent is different. My game plan is very different. I love playing risk-free cricket.”Five-day cricket is a long game. I know my patterns, I know my strengths where I can perform well. I like to take the game forward calmly, take control of the situation and stay clear with my plans and what I need to do.”Rathod has had a stellar start to his first-class career, with 15 scores of fifty-plus in just 35 innings, and was a key factor behind Vidarbha’s winning 2024-25 Ranji season. His next goal is to play all three formats but he is not looking too far ahead.”I have the belief it [playing all three formats] will happen,” Rathod said. “I also obviously want to play IPL, but my immediate goal is to prepare myself for Irani Trophy as that is also a big stage. If I perform there, I will get closer to my India A dream. Yes, I want to play for India, but to reach there, India A is my first step.”At 25, Rathod has already been part of a Ranji Trophy-winning team and is now close to being part of a Duleep Trophy-winning side. While things have happened quickly in the last year, Rathod is taking them in calmly, at a specific pace, much like his batting.