His 127 off 150 balls not only gave Mumbai an aggressive start but the fact that he went for a big score laid the foundation to pile a big score.IT was his free-flowing bat swing that made him a boy to watch out for. Mumbai faithfuls believed they had unearthed a talent similar to Prithvi Shaw – a fearless opener who liked to press on with the game. As it happens with flashy batsmen, Bista too went through a period where he would get out more often due to his own carelessness. More than the bowlers taking his wicket, he would throw his wicket away.
The frequent chopping and changing also was bothering Bista, and it showed in his performances. Just one fifty in the last 8 innings – his last four knocks read 0,8,27, 8. And so it wasn’t a surprise when the selectors dropped him for the last game.
It was then Bista knocked on the doors of his old coach Vinod Raghavan, who has known him since he was 15. Somewhere down the season, his bat-grip had changed; lack of runs had hit his confidence and bad habits had crept in. Raghavan immediately had him revert to his old grip.
“They wanted a 100 meter runner to run marathon, it’s not possible at all. When you see such kind of player not scoring runs, its more case of mental issue than technique. Technique can be adjusted but confidence can’t. I just told him to go back to old grip and enjoy the game as he used too,” Raghavan recalls the advice he gave to Bista.
On Saturday, things clicked for Bista. His 127 off 150 balls not only gave Mumbai an aggressive start but the fact that he went for a big score laid the foundation to pile a big score. It was also for the first time this season Mumbai’s openers had such a big stand – 174 runs flooded in quick time.
Bista says if he was the Mumbai captain he wouldn’t have given chance to himself. “I was extremely fortunate to get another chance after what had been a miserable season. I would like to thank the selectors and the team for showing faith in me and giving me another chance. If I was the captain, I wouldn’t have given myself another chance after such a season, so I knew that this was the last chance for me and I am glad I could make it count.”
It has to be mentioned that Saurashtra’s seamers failed badly in execution of their plans. Barring their skipper Jaydev Unadkat, the medium-pacers offered too much width outside off stump. Especially when you consider that Bista loves his cut shots.
The 20-year-old left-arm pacer Chetan Sakariya in particular was taken apart, his first three overs leaked 30 runs as Bista slammed seven fours. He was strong on his back foot, punching and cutting the balls and when the bowlers overpitched as course correction, he creamed them through covers.
Saurashtra relied on their in-form left-arm spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja to counter Bista but the opener managed to get two fours off him. He got into his 90’s with two fours off Chirag Jani, the mediumpacer and got to 99 with a four to deep point off left-arm mediumpacer Hardik Rathod. He reached his hundred with a single and helped himself to two more boundaries before he fell, miscuing a big hit off Jadeja to extra cover.
However, despite the start he gave them, Mumbai’s middle-order collapsed, losing four wickets for 37 runs. Jadeja got in-form Shreyas Iyer as he tried to cut but found Sheldon Jackson at point, Shubham Ranjane tried to chase wide ball from Sakariya but ended up dragging it on to his stumps. Aditya Tare, who was caught in slip, trying to drive Jadeja. Thanks to Siddhesh Lad’s unbeaten 84 and Shivam Dube’s unbeaten 34, Mumbai ended their day 334 for 5 on day one.
Bista’s aggressive knock was studded with 21 fours; his intent proved his coach Raghavan right, you can’t make a 100 meter sprinter run a marathon.
Brief scores: Mumbai 334/5 (Bista 127, Auti 57, Lad 84*, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 3-89) v Saurashtra;
