When Tamil Nadu travelled to Cuttack to take on Orissa, Rajat Bhatia was a very excited youngster. The chances of him making his Ranji Trophy debut in that match were very high. When the playing eleven was named on the morning of the match Bhatia found to his joy that he would have the pleasure of taking the field.

On winning the toss, Tamil Nadu skipper Sreedharan Sharath had no sesitation in electing to bat. Although Orissa hardly possessed an attack that put fear in the minds of the opposition, Sharath might have been doubting the wisdom of his choice when Tamil Nadu were reduced to 190/9.

None of the Tamil Nadu batsmen made any runs worth mentioning apart from the captain who helped himself to 60 runs in the middle of the order. Rajat Bhatia, who bats high in the order found himself slotted at number 10. Hardly the kind of move that tells you your captain has confidence in you. In the end it turned out to be the best thing Tamil Nadu could have done.

Taking on the bowling head on in a 137 run last wicket partnership with Gokulakrishna, Bhatia changed the course of the innings. Bhatia had to initially curb his strokemaking tendencies and shore up the innings. When he found that Gokulakrishna could provide some sort of support he cut loose. The Orissa bowlers under estimated this youngster and paid the price for it.

In an innings of 72 off just 93 balls that Bhatia will remember for a long time to come, he took the Tamil Nadu score to a respectable 327. His innings included 9 boundaries and came to an end when part time bowler Prabhanjan Mullick trapped him LBW. Topscoring in the very first innings he played for Tamil Nadu Bhatia caught the eye of his skipper.

Orissa were knocked over for 195 in their first innings and Bhatia was sent in at top of the order. A big promotion for the lad in his very first game. After batting at number ten in the first innings and top scoring there, Bhatia was pushed up to open the innings in the company of Sreedharan Sriram. Taking the opportunity with both hands Bhatia once again topscored for Tamil Nadu. There was no keeping this youngster quiet.

In a more sedate and well made 60, Bhatia held up one end while wickets fell at the other end. With no one else making even a half century, Tamil Nadu managed just over 300. Bhatia with top scores in each innings had truly arrived in Tamil Nadu Ranji Trophy cricket.

The match ended a tame draw and by virtue of that all important first innings lead, Tamil Nadu secured 5 points.