MUMBAI: After he scored a century against Madhya Pradesh to ensure three points for Mumbai in the season opener at Indore,
Jay Bista was curiously dropped from the second match against Tamil Nadu, with the team management preferring to open with Akhil Herwadkar instead.
However, with his typically attacking, free-flowing 123 at the Wankhede Stadium in the must-win game for Mumbai against Tripura, which took him just136 balls and included17 sweetly-timed fours, the 21-year-old bespectacled batsman looks to have sealed the opening slot for now.
Post his third First Class hundred, Bista admitted that there was pressure on him to perform, or perhaps perish. "I was under pressure to perform, but I play every innings thinking that it's my last game. I don't think that if I don't play well, I won't be in the team. For me, it's important that I execute what I had planned to do in the middle," said the youngster.
In the last three years, Bista has often been shunted to Mumbai's Under-23 team after being dropped from the Ranji side, but it's an exercise which he doesn't mind, as reflected by his huge appetite for runs in the
Col CK Nayudu
(for Under-23) trophy in the past few seasons. "It's better to play there, where I lead the team, rather than sit here and waste my four days here. I would thank the selectors, who're doing the right thing," he said.