From making his Ranji Trophy debut for Delhi to serving in the Navy and carving out a place in Services’ set-up, Mohit Ahlawat has taken the longer route in domestic cricket.
On Wednesday, he produced one of his most significant knocks against his former team, striking a fluent 142 to help Services seize control of their Ranji Trophy encounter on Day 3 at Palam.
Services mounted a strong response to Delhi’s first-innings total of 344, with Mohit Ahlawat leading the charge en route to 280/5 at stumps.
Ahlawat’s 142 off 150 helped Services seize control after an early setback taking their lead to 202 runs.
Ahlawat, who interestingly made his Ranji debut for Delhi under Gautam Gambhir’s captaincy back in 2015, found himself pulling Services out of trouble against Delhi nearly a decade later.
“It’s been quite an interesting journey. I joined the Navy as a petty officer in 2018. I’ve been playing for Services ever since,” Ahlawat told reporters after the end of day’s play. “It’s been a bit of an up-and-down journey, and in some ways, that continues but the effort is always to improve myself day by day, whenever a new season comes around.”
A ward of coach Sanjay Bharadwaj of the LB Shastri Club, Ahlawat was promoted to four in the batting order in the second innings due to Vineet Dhankhar feeling unwell earlier. And, he made the most of this opportunity.
“He was sick, so that’s why I was moved up,” he added. “Because an extra responsibility comes when you come to that number, it’s an important position… so I was just taking that responsibility and keeping the strike rate in mind.”
The day began with Jayant Goyat, claiming his maiden five-wicket haul as Delhi were bowled out for 344 in their first innings. The 6’4” Services pacer, who hails from Bhiwani, provided the breakthrough performances for his side. Sumit Mathur (99) and Ayush Doseja (78) were among the leading contributors for Delhi, with Mathur falling just one run short of a century. All-rounder Dev Lakra contributed with 28.
Services, however, endured a difficult start to their reply. Navdeep Saini struck early to leave them at 50/2 at lunch, with Nitin Tanwar and Shubham Rohilla back in the pavilion. Ravi Chauhan and Ahlawat were tasked with the responsibility of steadying the innings.
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The pair responded with a substantial partnership, shifting the momentum firmly in Services’ favour. Chauhan made a valuable 56 before Shokeen dismissed him, but Ahlawat continued to counterattack. Scoring at a brisk pace, the right-hander was joined by Ahlawat in the middle and looked to build on the platform.
Ahlawat completed his century off 117 balls, capping an impressive counterattacking effort before he was dismissed by Aman Chaudhary for 142 in the 58th over.
After a century in the first innings, captain Rajat Paliwal seemed determined to also contribute in the second innings. He is batting at 62* off 96 overnight.