SoBo opener Hersh Tank thrives under Jay Bista’s captaincy

The dashing opener recorded the highest partnership of T20 Mumbai with skipper Jay Bista.

Opening batsman Hersh Tank believes the liberty given to him by fellow opener and SoBo SuperSonics’ skipper Jay Bista to play his natural game is the reason he has thrived in T20 Mumbai.

The duo opened for the SoBo SuperSonics’ team during the second season and broke the record for the highest opening stand in the league, amassing nearly 200 runs between them.

Speaking on an Instagram Live session hosted by Cricfit, Hersh Tank said he admired Bista’s style of captaincy and the freedom he gives the players which helped them perform better.

“I feel he is a very trusting captain. I don’t think he gets into wanting you to play in a particular way. He wants to give you the freedom to express yourself.

“In all the matches we have played, he has never told me - let’s look to do it this way. He leaves you free to play the way you want to play,” Hersh Tank said.

He further praised Jay Bista’s attacking brand of cricket, which is similar to Tank’s. The dashing duo stitched a record-breaking 196-run partnership against Aakash Tigers Mumbai Western Suburbs in the second season of the league.

“I feel Jay always looks for runs as well. Things become easier because he gets runs at a very quick pace as well. Whenever he is playing from the other side, things tend to become much easier,” revealed Tank.

Big appetite for runs

Hersh Tank, who draws inspiration from Indian great Virender Sehwag, has been racking up big runs, just like his idol, since a very young age. The Mumbai-born batsman shot to fame as a 12-year-old who scored 329 runs for his school team in an Under-16 game. The innings was registered in the Limca Book of Records.

“I have a similar viewpoint as Sehwag. I look to score as many runs as I can,” explained the opening batsman.

The 31-year-old’s insatiable appetite for runs continued in T20 Mumbai, scoring 226 runs in seven games for SoBo SuperSonics, making him the sixth-highest run-getter in the second season.

His 51 ball 93, remained the third-highest score that edition, only behind teammates Jay Bista’s 110 and Parag Khanapurkar’s 96.

According to Hersh Tank, SoBo SuperSonics started the season as underdogs but made it all the way to the summit-clash courtesy a balanced squad that worked together like a well-oiled machine.

“We had a good set of people who have played really good cricket. As a team, we had great balance. Everyone gelled very well together.

“I felt from the start to the end, people may not have expected us to do as well as we did. Going into the matches, at least I felt we were the favourites as a team to win the match. Be it any game against any opposition,” he added.

SoBo SuperSonics won all but one match before playing the finals against eventual champions North Mumbai Panthers.

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