Rajat Patidar continued his scintillating red-ball form in the 2025-26 season as he cracked his maiden First-Class double century in the Ranji Trophy opener for Madhya Pradesh against Punjab at the Emerald Heights International School Ground in Indore on Friday.
Continuing from his overnight century that propelled MP to the first-innings lead over Punjab’s 232-run total, Patidar waged a lone battle while batting with the tail to extend Madhya Pradesh’s lead past 250 in his first match as the team’s new all-format captain.
Patidar bettered his previous high score of 196 in the First-Class circuit and cracked his maiden double hundred off 328 deliveries, covering all parts of the ground in a knock studded with 26 fours.
Having started his red-ball career 10 years ago for MP, Patidar has amassed over 5,200 runs with an average closing in on 45.
The 32-year-old Patidar who went out of favour in the Indian Test set-up after a lacklustre debut against England last season, has charted a resurgence since the start of the last Ranji Trophy season. Patidar emerged as MP’s highest run-scorer, recording 529 runs at an average of 48.09, including one hundred and two fifties. He also led MP to a runner-up finish in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy while setting the batting charts on fire.
The dashing right-hander later led Royal Challengers Bengaluru to their maiden title in June 2025.
Top red-ball form
Leading the Central Zone side in the Duleep Trophy 2025 tournament in Bengaluru in September, Patidar ensured a four consecutive fifty-plus scored, including two centuries in the quarter-final and final. Patidar’s first-innings century in the final against the South Zone was the decisive performance that powered the Central Zone to victory, ending their ten-year wait for the first-class tournament title.
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Apart from his Duleep Trophy appearances, the Madhya Pradesh batter captained the Rest of India (ROI) side during the Irani Cup earlier this month. His squad included several prominent state captains, such as Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Abhimanyu Easwaran. Despite having these strong players, the ROI team ultimately lost the match to Vidarbha by 93 runs.
