Fall season ahead after dry spell?

As rival bowlers Yadav and Aaron bowled at serious pace — making the likes of Chopra,Saxena and Hrishikesh Kanitkar hop and duck on the second-day pitch at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium — and reduced them to 53/3,Chahar was left to rue the missed opportunity.

With figures of 35-5-168-0,it was a disappointing performance by the 19-year-old in a match that is being followed closely by the selectors. In the absence of spearhead Pankaj Singh,Chahar was expected to lead the attack,but not only did he return wicketless,he also went for almost five an over.

It is perhaps a case of second-season blues for Chahar,who made a sensational debut last year by picking 8/10 against Hyderabad on Day 1 of his first Ranji game. Two days into the new season,and that performance now seems a long time ago.

After playing a crucial role in Rajasthan’s Ranji Trophy win,Chahar hasn’t had the best of times. He was drafted into the India under-19 world cup training camp,only to be left out after it became clear that he would be past that age as per the ICC cut-off date.

He was signed up by the Rajasthan Royals for the IPL earlier,but couldn’t break into the final 15 in any of the matches. And just before the Irani match,Chahar hurt his left hand,needing five stitches,and was informed his senior pro and guide Pankaj was also out due to an injury.

Bowling in the backdrop of that situation and the expectations that his last season had risen,he crumbled. He was taken to the cleaners on Day 1 by Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane,while on Sunday the other ROI batsmen,too,made hay.

Not only his form,luck also deserted him. The only impact Chahar had on Sunday was when R Vinay Kumar advanced down the track in a pre-meditated attempt to slog one towards mid-wicket,but was forced to duck. The ball hit Vinay smack on the back of the helmet,and Rajasthan’s fielders applauded. On an earlier delivery,the right-arm pacer induced an edge from Vinay,but the third umpire declared it a no-ball.

Trying too hard

Chahar did bowl a shade better with the second new ball but he was guilty of trying too hard and not using his stock outswinger against the right-handers. Also,Chahar,who doesn’t quite have the pace of Yadav and Aaron,pitched it short on many occasions and was swatted away easily.

“You need to understand that he’s under severe pressure of expectations,” said Joshi. “He’s just 19. He will learn to cope with everything with time. It’s a blessing in disguise for him,he will realise what amount of work he needs to put in now to get a good season. Chahar is a big-hearted guy and a fast learner. He will be much better in the second innings.”

Added Rahane: “In your first season,you are an unknown face and by the time batsmen realise what the bowler’s strengths are,the match is over. But by the next season,those who have faced you are better prepared. So it’s difficult for a bowler to sustain his success in the second season .”

As Chahar and Rajasthan leaked runs,Rahane became the second ROI batsman to make a big hundred,helping himself to 152. He lost partner Parthiv Patel on the latter’s overnight score of 55,but kept building his innings steadily. Mandeep Singh justified his selection in the XI ahead of Ravindra Jadeja,with an attacking 60. Though Rahane fell after holing out a Sumit Mathur delivery to Robin Bisht at covers,the late order continued to pile on the misery. For the hosts,only left-arm seamer Aniket Choudhary (four wickets) and Sumit Mathur (three) made any sort of impression.

At the end of the day’s play,Chahar could only watch as debutant Choudhary hogged the limelight. Last year,at the same place,it was him.

Scoreboard: ROI (1st Innings): A Mukund b Mathur 18,S Dhawan b Khatri 177,A Rahane c Bist b Mathur 152,M Pandey lbw Choudhary 16,P Patel c Jhalani b Choudhary 55,M Singh c Jhalani b Choudhary 60,R Vinay Kumar c Kanitkar b Saxena 43,V Aaron lbw Saxena 41,R Sharma c Saxena b Mathur 52,P Ojha c Jhalani b Choudhary 4,U Yadav not out 10; Extras (b-5,lb-10,w-4,nb-16) 35; Total (all out in 153.4 overs) 663; FoW: 1-77,2-267,3-287,4-410,5-489,6-512,7-589,8-622,9-645; Bowling: D Chahar 35-5-168-0,A Choudhary 34-4-125-4,S Mathur 31.4-3-129-3,M Khatri 42-4-172-1,A Menaria 1-0-10-0,R Bist 5-0-16-0,V Saxena 5-1-28-2; Rajasthan (1st Innings) A Chopra c Yadav b Ojha 20,V Saxena c Patel b Yadav 11,H Kanitkar c Patel b Yadav 14,R Bist batting 0; Extras (lb-3,w-1,nb-4) 8; Total (For 3 wkts; 22.3 overs) 53; FoW: 1-25,2-44,3-53; Bowling: R Vinay Kumar 7-1-14-0,U Yadav 10-3-22-2,V Aaron 5-1-14-0,P Ojha 0.2-0-0-1.