Mumbai vs MP: Bista dazzles for Mumbai after Ojha heroics

INDORE: He took a sharp catch in the slips to get rid of the dangerous looking Mihir Hirwani, he had earlier claimed the wicket of a well set Ankit Kushwah, he then returned to score a 96 -ball unbeaten 89. Mumbai young all-rounder Jay Bista had a field day and a rewarding one at that.
Chasing Madhya Pradesh's first innings score of 409, Mumbai managed to wipe off 130 (loss of one wicket) runs on Day Two of their Group C Ranji Trophy encounter being played here at the Emerald Heights International School grounds.Bista and Akhil Herwadkar opened the innings for Mumbai after the tea interval. While Herwadkar's approach was cautious, Bista began to play his shots freely once he settled down. Herwadkar left all deliveries outside the off stump and looked solid in defence. He also played some well-timed drives. But almost out of nowhere Herwadkar tried to force a square drive and all he managed was an edge to Naman Ojha off the bowling of Kushwah.
Herwadkar's dismissal saw Siddhesh Lad come to the crease. Bista, meanwhile, had raced to his half century off just 49 balls. Despite scoring run-a-ball, the most delightful thing about Bista's batting was that he did not attempt any agricultural shots. He played each ball on its merit. While he used the leg-glance and the cut shot to accumulate most of his 12 boundaries, some of the cover drives he executed were a purists' delight.
It was both surprising and refreshing to see Lad, who has mostly batted at the No. 6 or No. 7 positions, being promoted to No. 3. The wiry batsman scored a 51-ball unbeaten 22 and like a senior pro tried and gave as much strike to his partner.
Earlier, Madhya Pradesh's Naman Ojha, who was batting on 99 overnight, went on to score 180. Ankit Sharma, Ojha's overnight companion, was the first MP wicket to fall on the day. He was adjudged caught behind off the bowling of Akash Parkar - a decision that didn't look convincing. Kushwah (34) and Hirwani (31) made handy contributions towards the end of the innings.
For Mumbai, debutante Parkar was the most successful bowler with four wickets. Royston Dias and Vijay Gohil both bagged two wickets apiece. Bista has laid the foundation for Mumbai it will be interesting to see the visitors' approach on Day Three on Monday.
Bista, though, was noncommittal. "We will see how quickly we can score runs. Our focus will remain to play on merit. We will try and plan our game according to the situation," he said.
Asked if there was any particular reason for him to slow down his scoring pattern, Bista said: "The end of day's play was approaching. I thought I would come out rested and fresher tomorrow so I slowed down my game a bit."