Diminutive Rituraj stands tall with deeds

When Rituraj Singh stands next to new-ball partner Pankaj Singh, the 5'8" bowler is dwarfed by the personality of his senior colleague. But once he marks the run up with the ball in hand, he comes into his own.

Rituraj may not possess the built or experience of Pankaj, but he makes up for it with a faster approach and the ability to move the ball both ways to keep the batsmen guessing.

Add to it the ability to bowl a stump-to-stump line, and one can understand the reason behind the 21-year-old's phenomenal success in his debut Ranji season.

Rituraj was drafted into the squad after last season's hero Deepak Chahar was ruled out due to jaundice for the game against Saurashtra and has not looked back since. He came up with two match-winning efforts in his first three games and has been the pick of the bowlers in the final on a track not conducive to medium-pace bowling.

“I was focussing on line and length and did not try to do anything different,” said Rituraj, who now has 26 wickets from four games at an average of 15.03. Skipper Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Pankaj are impressed with his discipline and insist that he has a bright future.

Rituraj has shown his potential this season but it will be interesting to see how he copes with expectations in his second season when the opposition would be better prepared for him.