Dropped after Ranji quarterfinal, Mumbai opener makes strong comeback by slamming maiden ton to take team to 386/3 against ROI on first day
It took 12 matches and the season-ending Irani Cup match for Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai to post their maiden opening century partnership. And, the batsman who was dropped after failing in his first four matches was at the centre of attention. Twenty-year-old Jay Bista made a telling impression with his first century in first-class cricket.
Bista justified the faith the Mumbai selectors, captain Aditya Tare and coach Chandrakant Pandit had in him. They encouraged him all along despite his failures and made him believe that he was still a part of the Mumbai set-up. However, Bista was dropped from the Ranji squad after the quarterfinal, sent to play in the CK Nayudu Trophy Under-23 knockouts to get runs and regain his confidence. He ticked both those boxes on Sunday to make 104 off just 90 deliveries (15x4, 1x6) against a hapless Rest of India attack on the opening day of the Irani Cup at the batting beauty Brabourne Stadium.
Bista and left-handed Akhil Herwadkar, season's second highest run-getter with 879 runs, raised 193 for the opening wicket. Bista was the first to go, trapped leg before wicket by the hard-working right-arm speedster from Assam, Krishna Das, as he tried to flick with his feet firmly grounded. With the solid base laid by Bista and Herwadkar, Mumbai reached 386/3 at stumps after Tare chose to bat in perfect batting conditions.
Also Read: Irani Cup: Wanted to prove that I can score century for Mumbai, says Jay Bista
Also making the most of the conditions were Suryakumar Yadav (88*, 125b, 15x4, 1x6) and Tare (38*, 86b, 4x4) who shared 114 for the unbroken fourth wicket and look good to score many more on Monday.
Bista, who replaced Bhavin Thakkar from the 11 that played the Ranji final in Pune a week ago, rode high on the confidence that skipper Tare had in him. He also had a long chat with coach Pandit after practice on the match eve and believed that he can come good for Mumbai, putting aside his earlier failures as a bad dream.
"It's a good sign that the selectors have backed him again and got him back in the team," Tare said on match eve on Saturday. "He is a very talented player, something special for the future and he needs time and needs to be groomed. I am sure if he has the right attitude and if he works on his game, he's going to be a great asset for us in the years to come."
Bista showed plenty of that right attitude. In the U-23 tournament that he played after being dropped, Bista amassed 217 in last week's final that Mumbai won against Madhya Pradesh in Indore. This followed scores of 44 and 128 against Baroda in the quarterfinals and 39 against Maharashtra in the semis.
As for the Rest of India bowlers, it was hard work for them for the rest of the day after being unlucky in the first half-an-hour or so when the edges induced by Jaydev Unadkat and Das fell short of the slip fielders. While Das, who took 50 wickets this season in Ranji Trophy, forced the openers to play at the ball, Unadkat offered width, peppered with short deliveries that did not rattle the Mumbai openers.
The bespectacled right-hander Bista punished loose deliveries, and there were plenty of them as the day wore on. He reached his 50 off only 48 deliveries and used another 34 to move from 50 to 100. His knock won a few admirers including former Mumbai players present at the Cricket Club of India clubhouse.
At the other end, Herwadkar was content playing the sheet-anchor role even as he showed his strength on the on-side with the odd boundary. The left-hander could not make the most of the life he received on 88 when Sheldon Jackson spilled an offering off Uttar Pradesh speedster Ankit Rajpoot at first slip. In his next over, Faiz Fazal at the same position held on to a straight-forward catch with Herwadkar 10 short of a century (148 balls, 15x4).
Shreyas Iyer continued his free-stroking form to reach his half-century in no time. Dropped on 30 by Bengal's Sudip Chatterjee at gully off Das, Iyer did not curb his attacking instincts as rival captain Naman Ojha ran out of ideas, shuffling his medium-pacers and the lone off-spinner Jayant Yadav with little success.
Rest of India's selection seemed weird as they left out the season's highest wicket-taker Shahbaz Nadeem of Jharkhand. It was difficult to understand Rest going in with four medium-pacers including Stuart Binny. Perhaps Nadeem's presence could have lessened the burden of Haryana's Yadav who was picked easily for runs.
SCOREBOARD
Mumbai (1st innings): A Herwadkar c Fazal b Rajpoot 90, J Bista lbw b Das 104, S Iyer c Bharat b Binny 55, S Yadav batting 88, A Tare batting 38; Extras (LB9, W 2) 11
Total (3 wickets, 83 overs) 386; Fall of wickets: 1-193 (38.2 ov, Bista), 2-209 (41.3 ov, Herwadkar), 3-272 (54.1 ov, Iyer); Bowling: J Unadkat 14-1-66-0, K Das 19-3-111-1, A Rajpoot 17.4-4-73-1 (W-1), S Binny 14.2-2-45-1 (W-1), J Yadav 18-2-82-0
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Jay Bista")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}