Playing for East Delhi Riders against the Purani Dilli in the inaugural edition of the Delhi Premier Legaue, Rawat came out to open the innings with 21-year-old Sujal Singh.
After a sedate first over which fetched just three runs, Rawat got into the act in the second, hitting a four and a six of Shivam Sharma. Sujal Singh then hit two sixes in the third over, bowled by Lalit Yadav, who has played on and off for Delhi Capitals in the IPL.
At the end of the powerplay, East Delhi had reached 50-0, with both batters now well set. However, not many would have imagined at that stage for Rawat and Singh to take off like they did. The next 14 overs fetched 191 runs at more than 13.5 runs per over, without the loss of any wicket.
Both batters practically raced against each other throughout the innings as to who would reach their individual milestones first. After the 10th over, Rawat was on 43 off 33 while Singh was on 47 off 28. The latter completed his fifty in the next over, off 31 balls, but Rawat beat Singh to his hundred, getting there off 59 balls in the 19th over.
The last two overs combined to bring 38 runs for East Delhi as they finished on 241-0 off their 20 overs, with Rawat remaining not out on 121 off 66 and Singh on 108 off 57.
𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧! 🏏
— Delhi Premier League T20 (@DelhiPLT20) August 29, 2024
Anuj Rawat gets his maiden #AdaniDPLT20 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ in 𝑠𝑡𝑦𝑙𝑒!🤩 #AdaniDelhiPremierLeagueT20 #AdaniDPLT20 #DilliKiDahaad | @JioCinema @Sports18 @delhi_cricket pic.twitter.com/OeDkpbjTet
The DPL does not have official T20 status, which means the records don't get added to official T20 records. Across all T20s, the world record for the highest opening stand is 258, between Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming and Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake of Japan, who achieved the feat against China earlier this year.
That is the only 250-plus opening partnership recorded in offically recognised T20 games. If the DPL had T20 status, Rawat and Singh's effort would have stood in the second place, displacing Hazratullah Zazai and Usman Ghani's partnership of 236 for Afghanistan against Ireland in 2019.
Rawat has played 24 matches in the IPL so far, two for Rajasthan Royals in 2021 and the remainder from 2022 onwards for RCB. He has 318 runs at an average of 19.88 and a strike rate of 119.10 in the league.
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