Holding the fort, wicket-keeper batsman Chetan Bist went on to score a mammoth hundred (146*) to put Team Rajasthan in a commanding position. Not even once he let Jammu and Kashmir dominate and dictated the terms throughout the day. The host team was in the driver’s seat in all the sessions of the day-1 during the first Ranji Trophy match of Group C at the SMS Stadium on Thursday.
The right-hand batsman Chetan Bist anchored the innings beautifully and all the batsmen who followed, built the innings around him. He struck the ball at an economy of 54.48 and crunched 22 fours as he notched up unbeaten score of 146. It was his second Ranji Trophy century and arguably it was one of the finest knocks he has ever played. This innings of his is likely to cement his position as an opener as in last season as well, he scored a ton batting at the same position.
His opening partner Amit Gautam, looked restricted from the very start of the play, and in a short stay at the crease he could not go beyond 25 (from 51 balls) as he was caught plumb on a Parvez Rasool delivery. Captain Mahipal Lomror, who came one down, too got out cheaply as he gave away his wicket to the medium-pacer Umar Nazir. The seasoned batsman Robin Bist (39 from 73 balls)gave his younger brother ample support while he was in his nervous 90s, but himself failed to complement Chetan. Robin was caught in slips on Nazir’s delivery.
Left-hand batsman Ashok Menaria looked at ease and tackled aggressive Irfan Pathan with great poise when he was brought back in the attack with the new ball. Playing his natural attacking game, Menaria provided the much-needed pace to the innings on his way to unbeaten 46 from 66 balls.
While most of J&K’s bowlers bowled economically, they looked wanting in many fronts. The visitor’s captain Parvez Rasool scalped 1 wicket at an economy of 2.26, Pathan remained wicketless. At the end of the day’s play, Team Rajasthan had scored 300 at a loss of 3 wickets. Certainly, winning the toss did not benefit J&K.
BRIEF SCORE: Stumps Day-1— Rajasthan 300/3 (Chetan Bist 146* batting, Ashok Menaria 45* batting, Umar Nazir 2/74) vs Jammu and Kashmir
On Front Foot
- Team Rajasthan batsman Chetan Bist on his way to 146* struck the ball at an economy of 54.48 and crunched 22 fours.
- It his second Ranji Trophy hundered. His previous century also came at a the SMS Stadium and as an opener during Ranji season 2017-18.
- According to the wicket-keeper batsman, the strip on day-1 was on offer for both batsman and bowlers.
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