When Punjab brought a side stacked with batsmen to Chennai to play their Quarter Final match against Tamil Nadu, a good batting track welcomed them. In a move that surprised a few, Tamil Nadu captain Sharath opted to put Punjab in to bat on winning the toss. A combination of bad batting and decent bowling vindicated his decision. Punjab were bowled out for just 258.

In response Tamil Nadu put together 461 bolstered by a 165 at the top of the innings by an in form Sreedharan Sriram. Hemang Badani who also looked in good nick contributed 70.

When Punjab batted the second time around they were 203 runs behind. However, they rallied strongly in their second essay at the crease and it looked like the match might slip out of the grasp of the home team. Both openers came good, with Vikram Rathour making 127 and Reetinder Singh Sodhi supporting him well with 89. Although the big lead Tamil Nadu had ensured that they would be in front for most of the time, the fact that they could not wrap up the Punjab innings became a source of worry.

Towards the very end of the innings Sharath threw the ball to one of the youngest members of the side - Rajat Bhatia. Bowling his mediumpacers with energy, Bhatia did what the other Tamil Nadu bowlers could not do. In a space of 15 balls Bhatia took 3 wickets giving away justr 2 runs in what people claim was the turning point of the game.

With the Punjab innings ending so abruptly, the initiative had shifted to the Tamil Nadu side. The home side ground home thje psycholoical edge they had and wrapped up the match on the final day. Once again, Rajat Bhatia had made a mark when it was least expected.