If you are a lower-order batter, coming in behind the likes of Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Suryakumar Yadav and Sarfaraz Khan, you expect a degree of comfort.
But on Wednesday, that wasn’t a luxury afforded to Atit Sheth during the Duleep Trophy semifinal between West Zone and Central Zone, happening at the Alur (I) Cricket Ground in Bengaluru.
Heading into the match, much was talked about the prowess of West’s top-order, which was brimming with talent and experience. But against a resolute Central bowling unit, led capably by skipper Shivam Mavi, they came a cropper.
After starting patiently, West lost the plot as Mavi’s men plucked wickets regularly to reduce the defending champion to 65 for five, bringing Sheth out to the middle alongside Pujara.
The Baroda all-rounder was undaunted at the precarious situation as he put together a 45-run partnership with Pujara.
With his senior partner leaning on his defensive skills, Sheth gave the innings momentum with some sweetly-timed boundaries, including a cracking pull shot, which flew to the fence.
Even after Pujara fell to Mavi, Sheth kept the fight going, along with fellow all-rounder Dharmendrasinh Jadeja. The duo compiled a 73-run stand to drag West close to a face-saving total.
Sheth’s smooth-flowing knock eventually came to an end on 74, but only after he got his side past the 200-run mark.
“The conditions today were in favour of bowling, particularly when the ball is new. But after the 40th over or so, the pitch eased out. I guess spinners will play a big role, especially in the third and fourth innings,” said Sheth.
The 27-year-old, who was part of the Rest of India team for the Irani Trophy earlier this year, had scored a career-best 140 not out against Nagaland in his side’s final Ranji Trophy game last season.
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“In the last two or three years, I have been learning how to bat according to the situation. Initially, I used to bat further down the order. But slowly, I have been given chances to bat up the order at Baroda. Now I have a better sense of what shot to play in different situations and against different bowlers,” said Sheth.
Sheth, who was in the India A squad that toured Bangladesh last year, appreciated the knowledge he gained from the tour.
“That was my first tour. I have learned a lot from my experiences there, particularly on how to handle different situations. Those learnings have helped me in difficult scenarios like today,” he added.
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