Robin Bist spent many of his formative cricketing years at the Ferozeshah Kotla, dreaming of making it to the senior state squad. He, however, had to seek recognition in far-away Jaipur and subsequently a career with Rajasthan, making an impression with his batting abilities.
He returned to his native venue on Wednesday to hold the Central Zone innings firm against South Zone on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy final. His knock of 79 was a standout show on a day of mediocre cricket.
Central finished the day at 237 for seven with the partnership between skipper Piyush Chawla and Arindam Ghosh — which kept the South attack at bay in an engaging last hour of play — faltering in the closing moments. Chawla’s wicket, an expansive drive, signified Central’s approach to the job this day — bordering on the casual.
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Bist, Central’s saviour for the day, summed it up well when he talked about his own dismissal. “It was not a ball to get out to. I have never got out in this manner. I even asked Pragyan (Ojha) and he thought the ball top-spun and stopped.
“I should have seen the day through having batted so long. It is not an easy pitch to bat [on] because the ball is not really coming on. Their pacers bowled well though,” said Bist, disappointment writ large on his face.
He looked good for a century but for the indecisive act.
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Central showed guts and positivity by electing to bat; guts because the pitch had a tinge of green and positivity because the intent was to take the initiative rather than wait for things to pan out.
But survival was paramount in the first hour as the ball seamed in and out, the batsmen groped around and the bowlers probed. It was a sore sight as the ball either kept hitting the pads frequently or kept the wicketkeeper busy.
South skipper R. Vinay Kumar too was keen to grab the initiative. His tactic of employing seven bowlers in the first session was intriguing.
“It was helpful initially and then the ball was kind of holding back on the pitch. The idea was to keep the pressure on,” said Vinay Kumar.
In the opening session Central lost just the wicket of Jalaj Saxena, who had stuck it out with left-handed Faiz Fazal. The Central openers lacked conviction in the middle but kept their wickets intact.
South, refusing to give up, pressed hard. Central resisted stoutly, until South made the first dent when Saxena was ‘caught’ behind.
South dominated the second session as Central scored 88 but lost four wickets, two to indiscretion. Fazal, after a sedate 49 with seven fours, fell to a square cut while the in-form Naman Ojha drove too early to taste a rare failure in recent times.
His intended drive was snapped at mid-off but Central recovered through a fifth-wicket stand of 68 runs between Bist and left-handed Ashok Menaria.
Bist, 12 fours adorning his 153-ball essay, impressed with his temperament. He was willing to give the bowler his due but unsparingly pounced on the loose balls, the drive being his favourite.
Bist has a canny ability to pick the gap and make the most with his sweet timing, a couple of straight drives being especially noteworthy. His dismissal though pushed Central on the defensive after Menaria was stumped and Mahesh Rawat, a century maker in the last match, was adjudged caught behind.
A cameo by Chawla and a responsible innings by Ghosh helped Central salvage the situation with their 52-run partnership which ended with Chawla’s flashy drive.
For South, Baba Aparajith, with his off-spin, scalped two.
The scores: Central Zone — 1st innings: Faiz Fazal c Vihari b Aparajith 49, Jalaj Saxena c Karthik b Vinay 2, Robin Bist c Mithun b Pragyan Ojha 79, Naman Ojha c Vinay b Aparajith 4, Ashok Menaria st Karthik b Vihari 37, Mahesh Rawat c Karthik b Gopal 0, Arindam Ghosh (batting) 32, Piyush Chawla c Uthappa b Sharath 30; Extras (nb-4): 4; Total (for seven wkts in 87 overs): 237.
Fall of wickets: 1-25, 2-90, 3-94, 4-162, 5-163, 6-185, 7-237.
South bowling: R. Vinay Kumar 20-7-39-1, A. Mithun 15-8-29-0, S. Sharath 14-5-47-1, Pragyan Ojha 16-3-40-1, S. Gopal 14-2-53-1, R. Uthappa 1-0-1-0, B. Aparajith 6-0-26-2, H. Vihari 1-0-2-1.