This man can bat!

The answers lie in the Irani Trophy match held in Chennai seven months ago. Mumbai, led by Sachin Tendulkar, had made a mockery of the high-profile Rest of India line-up comprising Ganguly, Sehwag, Dravid, Laxman and Yuvraj and were threatening to run away with the match.

But Balaji, coming in as nightwatchman, proved a point or two to his teammates with his batting. He scored only 26 runs but it was the poise exhibited during his 144-minute stay at the crease while tackling a fired-up Mumbai attack that not only earned plaudits but also effectively shut out the Ranji champions from the game.

‘‘He did a great job with me in the morning and that was the key because we kept them (Mumbai) on the field for a long time,’’ Dravid was to say then.

Coach John Wright too had been effusive in his praise: ‘‘It was wonderful to see a fast bowler come out and play with intelligence, commonsense and temperament. He really set the tempo and the mental state of the day. It was tremendous.’’

The selection of the 22-year-old, who had also impressed with his fielding skills during the match, to the Indian team was a forgone conclusion.

Mumbai speedster Avishkar Salvi still cannot forget Balaji’s exploits that denied his team a famous win. ‘‘Basically he is a very positive guy. He always feels he can do it,’’ says Salvi, who was involved in a 51-run partnership with Balaji against Jamaica while touring the West Indies with the India A team last year.

‘‘He knows where his off-stump his. He plays with a straight bat and his batswing is very fast,’’ observes Salvi.

The emergence of Balaji can well termed as a bolt from the Blue!