Irani Cup: Atharva Taide redeems himself with a well timed hundred

“Neither blissful nor glad. It’s nonetheless not time to have a good time. I’ll be blissful solely after we take a agency command on the sport.” Atharva Taide (143, 283m, 15×4, 1×6) might have sounded prophetic or having taken a leaf out of his cricketing idols who’ve developed a knack of a majority of their achievements. But the diminutive Vidarbha opener meant what he stated after the opening day’s proceedings of the Irani Cup.

Having crafted a affected person century in opposition to the Rest of India at Jamtha, the Vidarbha opener most well-liked to talk of composure and steadiness quite than celebration. While he carried on in the identical vein on the second morning earlier than misreading offie Saransh Jain’s arm-ball, the sport remained in steadiness.

But for the left-handed opener, it was a defining innings. To occupy the crease for effectively over eight hours was a press release in itself by Taide. After enduring a mean final season — one which ended with him being ignored of Vidarbha’s Ranji Trophy remaining XI — Taide had walked into this season with the dedication to reset. Hours of labor within the nets had assured him that his batting was so as.

“I’ve been working exhausting for the final two or three years however the outcomes simply didn’t present in matches. Frustration did creep in to an extent,” he admitted. “So I informed myself to maintain believing within the course of, not get determined, and never be carried away by success both.”

On Wednesday (October 1, 2025), fortune and focus mixed to present him the chance he craved. Bowled off the primary ball Akash Deep bowled when he was on 1, Taide survived due to a no-ball name. Soon after, a easy probability was spilled within the slips (9) off Anshul Kamboj earlier than Ishan Kishan misjudged a regulation edge (36) off Akash simply earlier than lunch. “Perhaps it was my day after the no-ball, however I needed to money in and bat lengthy,” he stated.

The compact left-hander did simply that, enjoying inside himself within the first session earlier than blossoming into fluency alongside fellow southpaw Yash Rathod. His century — raised with a clear strike over long-on — was not a flourish of flashiness however a mirrored image of situational consciousness. “I don’t see myself as flashy or a stayer. I play to the state of affairs and to what the staff wants,” he defined.

For Vidarbha, Taide’s return to kind couldn’t have been higher timed. For Taide himself, the hundred was much less about redemption than about re-establishing religion in himself.