Irani Cup : Ton-up Bist lifts Rajasthan

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Going by his stature, Robin Bist may be the shortest among the Rajasthan batsmen.

But on the opening day of the Irani Cup tie against Rest of India here, the right-hander stood tall among his team-mates with an unconquered century, a priceless contribution in his team’s first-innings effort of 253.

RoI were 2/0 at stumps and will look to make Rajasthan pay for their batsmen’s mediocrity, with the exception of Bist.

Walking in at No. 4, Bist shone bright with a fighting 117 not out (187b, 14x4, 2x6) on a sunny day at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium.

It was Sachin Tendulkar who had advised Bist recently to tighten up his backfoot play and the 24-year-old, returning from a thumb injury, followed the Little Master’s words to perfection, stippling his knock with crisp cuts and firm punches.

Barring a top-edged boundary that took him to the three-figure mark, Bist was serene throughout the knock and was the classy partner while splicing up two crucial stands with Rashmi Ranjan Parida (34) and Dishant Yagnik (40).

On a day where the expectations of a green top turned a damp squib, RoI skipper Cheteshwar Pujara opted to introduce spin as early as in the 14th over after electing to bowl.

By then, paceman Ishant Sharma had dished out an inspirational spell where he moved the ball away from the right-handed opening duo often than his stock incoming delivery and deservingly plucked Vineet Saxena (0) with a peach of a ball that induced an edge to wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha.

At the other end, Umesh Yadav wasted the new ball with wayward line and pointless short balls before making up for the shoddy show with a late assault which saw Rajasthan lose their last six wickets for 35 runs.

Yadav, in a dramatic third spell, accounted for five of those dismissals as Rajasthan were left to rue their long tail.

Sandwiched between Ishant’s incredible early effort and Yadav’s good work at the rear end was an equally engrossing show by local boy Stuart Binny, who did full justice to his inclusion as the pace-bowling all-rounder, in the eleven.

After nailing rival skipper and lynchpin Hrishikesh Kanitkar in front of the wicket with a well-angled delivery bowled around the wicket, the recently-married Binny seemed to be on an extended honeymoon when he had opener Ankit Lamba caught at gully.

Pragyan Ojha and Harmeet Singh were off-colour on the day.