Chandigarh
A couple of years back, he fell one short of equaling former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s record of 14 sixes in the Vijay Hazare trophy but on Tuesday, Ankit Kaushik bailed Chandigarh out with a sedate century as the hosts posted a healthy 274 for 5 before bad light forced an early closure of play on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy tie against Bihar here on Tuesday.
Born to a former cricketer-turned handball player, Ankit’s father Kapil Dev not only shares the same name with the 1983 World Cup winning India captain, but also shared the new ball for DAV, Sector 8, during his school days. At present, Ankit’s father is serving as an inspector with Chandigarh Police.
An elated Kapil Dev opened up to TOI, immediately after his son scored his maiden century for Chandigarh, saying, “His performance has indeed proved that my efforts haven’t gone in vain. He started training with me during his childhood. I was a fast bowler and always treated him as a professional batsman.”
Kapil had played Cooch Behar trophy before taking up handball and eventually representing India in the sport. On being probed of his son’s batting, Kapil said, “He has always concentrated on his technique and never played rash shots. His innings today has proved he has stayed true to his technique and that has helped Chandigarh out from the troubled start.”
Ankit, who came in with Chandigarh in a spot of bother after losing their fourth wicket at 76, started off playing the perfect second fiddle to skipper Manan Vohra, who looked rock solid during his innings of 41 off 94 balls, that included seven hits to the fence.
The departure of his captain after the lunch break virtually handed the 28-year-old Ankit the responsibility of getting the team’s innings back on track. And the right hander took on the challenge by not only keeping the scoreboard ticking but also keeping the Bihar bowlers led by the skipper and left-arm spinner Ashutosh Aman on check for the remainder of the day.
Ankit, who moved to Chandigarh ahead of the 2019-20 Ranji session, gradually went on to bring up his fifty with a single but then pressed the accelerator in the company of new man Bipul Sharma, who held his fort from the other end.
With Ankit going after the bowlers, the left-handed Bipul got enough time to play himself in on a track that assisted the spinners. Thereafter, it was one way traffic for the Chandigarh right-left duo, who showed no mercy to the visiting bowlers. In the process, Ankit reached the three-figure mark while Bipul got to his half century before bad light forced early stumps.
While Ankit headed back undefeated on 106, laced with 18 fours and a six, Bipul remained unbeaten on 63, comprising seven hits to the fence.
Earlier, poor light conditions forced a delayed start to the toss.
