Title - Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane make Western Railway suffer

MUMBAI: The last time Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane represented their employers, Indian Oil, in an 'A' Division Times Shield encounter, both scored double tons and tormented the Air India bowlers for most part of the three-day match.On Monday, in a Group B Times Shield 'A' Division encounter, they were well on their way to script a similar story after Indian Oil were put in by Western Railway at their Mahalaxmi Sports facility.When umpires called it a day, Pujara remained unbeaten on 109 and Rahane was not out on 116 and Indian Oil were sitting pretty with 274-1 on the scoreboard."It was fun batting together after a long time," Rahane said as he recalled that knock against Air India in 2007 and exchanged a quick handshake with partner Pujara. For his part, Pujara smiled back in acknowledgement.But both of them were in sync while admitting that batting on a slow Western Railway track was not easy. "The wicket is slow. We had to work hard to accumulate runs," Rahane said. "And it was hot and humid. Maintaining hydration levels was a daunting task," Pujara added.Watching the duo bat and complement each other so beautifully came as a respite on a muggy afternoon. What also struck the observers was the commitment level displayed by the two. The two batsmen focused as though they were doing a repair job for India in a Test match.

"A match is a match," Rahane explained and added. "I would have batted with the same intensity even if I was playing a club game". "Besides," said Pujara: "Scoring runs at any level... against any opposition gives a batsman lot of confidence. So it is important to stay focused all the time."

Yuvraj Singh's double hundred in the Duleep Trophy in Hyderabad wouldn't have gone unnoticed by Pujara and Rahane and they would know that the southpaw, thanks to his 208, has suddenly jumped into the fray, to be in reckoning for a Test spot against England, come November.

If Day One was a fruitless affair for Western Railway, the prognosis for Day Two isn't too encouraging. Because, the mindset that these two Indian Oil batsmen are in, they won't settle for anything cheap. "True, the wicket is a bit on the slower side, but if shot selection is proper, getting a batsman out, isn't so easy," Rahane warned. "Also, we would be a lot fresher in the morning. That will help," Pujara grinned.