Gujarat batter Urvil Patel hammered two centuries in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy to underline his abilities in the shortest format.
| Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
In his first 43 T20s, Urvil Patel had never reached the three-figure mark. And then in his next three matches, within the span of a week, Patel achieved the milestone twice. Not just that, these knocks, in the group stage of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy that concluded on Thursday, came at such a blistering rate that the 26-year-old now features twice in the list of the five fastest T20 hundreds by Indians.
The first was off 28 balls against Tripura at the Emerald Heights International School ground on November 27, surpassing Rishabh Pant’s 32-ball effort for the fastest ton in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. At the same venue on December 3, Urvil smashed a 36-ball century against Uttarakhand.
His exploits were not enough to take Gujarat to the quarter-finals of the T20 competition. Urvil can still derive satisfaction, however, from a run of scores that sees the opening batter occupy third spot in the list of highest run-getters before the knockouts – he racked up 315 runs in six matches at an average of 78.75.
“Power-hitting is my natural game. I look to back myself. I have always played cricket this way,” Urvil, who is a wicketkeeper, told The Hindu.
Although a caveat about Tripura and Uttarakhand’s modest bowling attacks is prudent, Urvil’s execution while attempting the big hits was still impressive.
“Playing this sort of game, the execution is very important. My execution and shot selection have become better. It is not like I am going after every ball. That is an improvement in my game, because of which I am getting good results.”
If these knocks had come a few days before the IPL mega auction on November 24 and 25, Urvil, who was part of Gujarat Titans in 2023, may have found a bidder at his base price of ₹30 lakh. More than him, though, he says it is his father who is hurting.
“My father is still hoping that I somehow get a chance in the IPL. He is more disappointed. Looking at that has hurt me more,” Urvil said.
Published – December 06, 2024 04:33 pm IST