Anuj Rawat: Shining bright amidst a star-studded Bangalore batting unit

8th April 2022: The cricket frenzy fans were in for an absolute treat on a super Saturday as the two heavyweights of the Indian Premier League, Mumbai Indians and the Royals Challengers Bangalore, locked horns at the MCA stadium in Pune. 

Despite being on the opposite ends of the spectrum in this edition of the extravaganza, It promised to be a Saturday night blockbuster for the fans as the two sides have been involved in intense rivalries, with the games going all the way down to the wire.

And guess what, tonight was no different as the Boys in Red registered a seven-win against the five-time champions to record a hat-trick of wins in the tournament. 

While Bangalore have always been a top-heavy batting unit over the years with the likes of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell, it was Anuj Rawat who stole all the attention with a masterclass on probably the biggest stage of his career.

With a plethora of stars featuring on the playing XI of both sides, the near-capacity crowd at Pune was enthralled by a new kid on the block who is still finding his way into this star-studded batting unit of the Challengers. 

Who is Anuj Rawat?

Hailing from Uttarakhand, Rawat moved to Delhi to pursue the sport professionally with the hope to don the national colours in the future. 

While he was an unknown prodigy for a while in the domestic circuit, he impressed in the selection trials for the Ranji Trophy as the team was on the lookout for a replacement for Rishabh Pant, who was touted to be in the Indian set-up. 

Despite lack of experience playing in the domestic circuit and the age-group cricket, Rawat showcased tremendous grit and determination to score 71 on debut against Assam in 2017. 

And since then, he has been a regular member of the playing XI of the side, bailing the team out of challenging situations time and time again. 

While he is known to be a hard-hitting batter and quality wicket-keeper, Rawat was assigned the task of finishing games for Delhi lower down the order. 

In the 25 innings he has played thus far in domestic T20s, Rawat has scored 548 runs at an average of 27.4 and a strike rate of 117.8, with the highest score of an unbeaten 88 against Saurashtra in 2019. 

His exploits in the domestic circuit and his ability to clear the boundary cushions with ease were among the prime reasons for the Rajasthan Royals picking him in the 2020 auction. 

While he was part of the team for two seasons, he made his debut against the Knight Riders on 7th October 2021 in Sharjah and endured a dismal outing after being dismissed for a golden duck courtesy of an inswinger from Lockie Ferguson. 

Despite a tough start to his IPL career, Rawat underwent gruelling hours of training sessions in his backyard to crawl his way out of disappointment and make a statement with his performances. 

After notching up consistent scorers for Delhi in the domestic season at an average of 49.5 and a strike rate of 132 , the Bangalore outfit went hard to acquire the services of the left-handed batter. After a fierce bidding war, they finally managed to pick him for INR 3.4 crore, an amount much to the surprise of the fans. 

However, the 22-year old did absolute justice to the faith and confidence shown by the team management of the Challengers by playing one of the best innings of his career on probably the biggest stage in franchise cricket. 

In pursuit of 152 runs for the win, the southpaw walked into the middle along with Faf du Plessis on a two-paced wicket. While the skipper struggled to get any timing onto the ball, Rawat took the attack to the opposition bowling unit and displayed an array of strokes all around the ground. 

While he was brutal to the seamers by charging down the track and targeting the straight boundaries, he was quick on his feet against the spinners and never really allowed them to settle down in their spell. 

En route to his knock of 66 runs, he smashed two boundaries and six hits over the fence to lay a solid foundation for the Bangalore side in this run chase. 

After a lukewarm performance in the first two games, Rawat bounced back with his maiden half-century on a night that mattered the most to power the Challengers to a seven-wicket win and start a glorious chapter in his cricketing career.