‘Once you get set, you have to make it big’: Akash Anand on maiden ton of season

A finger injury kept Akash Anand from keeping wickets, but did little to blunt his impact with the bat. | Photo Credit: Mumbai Cricket Association

Akash Anand had laid the foundation with an unbeaten 58 overnight and did well to convert that into his first century of the season, making sure to contribute crucially in strengthening Mumbai’s grip on its Ranji Trophy fixture against Himachal Pradesh.

“Being not out was job half done yesterday, and I wanted to make it count because once you get set on these wickets, you have to make it big. So glad it happened today,” Anand told Sportstar.

Mumbai’s challenge was to keep the momentum going even as wickets fell. Tushar Deshpande’s counterattack helped the side maintain its tempo.

“We just wanted to make sure that the momentum didn’t suddenly die down. When you get into a good flow at a certain point, you want to continue it. Luckily, we found that flow early and just carried it forward, despite losing wickets,” Akash said.

“Even after losing two wickets, I think Tushar came in and hit some big shots all around the ground. That automatically keeps the momentum going. Wickets fell, but the momentum didn’t go away.”

Before Akash reached his milestone, Sarfaraz Khan scored a daddy hundred to set Mumbai up for a solid showing with the bat.

“Sarfaraz has a lot of experience. Even if he has five bad innings, we have that belief that he is going to come hard,” said Mumbai captain Siddhesh Lad. “Whenever he gets set, he scores big. That is his best quality, and he is showing once again what he is capable of. We are very happy that he is in form now…”

Talking about Anand’s innings, Lad said, “Akash has been playing for the last two seasons. He was batting really well in the nets and in the pre-season games. He looked confident. It’s just that he needed to convert that into a big innings….

“He is someone who provides stability to the team from one end. That is his role, and the way he played was lovely to watch,” the Mumbai captain added.