Vidarbha’s Atharva Taide celebrates his century on day one of many Irani Cup 2025 cricket match between Vidarbha and Rest of India, at Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium on October 1, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI
“Neither happy nor satisfied. It’s still not time to celebrate. I’ll be happy only when we take a firm command on the game.” 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 mentioned after the opening day’s proceedings of the Irani Cup.
Having crafted a affected person century towards the Rest of India at Jamtha, the Vidarbha opener most well-liked to talk of composure and steadiness somewhat 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 properly over eight hours was a assertion in itself by Taide. After enduring a mean final season — one which ended with him being unnoticed of Vidarbha’s Ranji Trophy last XI — Taide had walked into this season with the willpower to reset. Hours of labor within the nets had assured him that his batting was so as.
“I have been working hard for the last two or three years but the results just didn’t show in matches. Frustration did creep in to an extent,” he admitted. “So I told myself to keep believing in the process, not get desperate, and not be carried away by success either.”
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, but I had to cash in and bat long,” he mentioned.
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 reflection of situational consciousness. “I don’t see myself as flashy or a stayer. I play to the situation and to what the team needs,” 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.
Published – October 02, 2025 05:55 pm IST