A dozen in bag,Vivek makes a statement

Before Delhi confirmed their semifinal bert4h for the semis,Bengal did give them jitters as they sat pretty on hundred without loosing a wicket. It was then when skipper Unmukt Chand realised that the team needs to come back into the game.

Mishra responded exceedingly well and kept his bowling simple. An early breakthrough was achieved and eventually Mishra returned with four victims,taking his scalp to 12 wickets.

“I was brought in the eighteenth over and I only knew that I have to bowl according to the field positions. When I ripped through two of Bengal’s batsmen,then I got confident that I might as well achieve a five wicket haul,” adds Mishra.

Things were not so rosy early on in the season for Mishra. He had endured a lean patch the previous year as he was rested for two matches against Punjab and Himachal Pradesh before he proved his worth in the Delhi side.

But when he was given an opportunity against Haryana,he struck three wickets to set the pace for a dream beginning. “When I was left out for the first two games,I used to literally control myself from crying. For hours and hours I used to question myself whether I will be able to make it next time. Thankfully,my team showed confidence in me and that boosted me to perform better today,” adds Mishra. Mishra has already cut the cake for his 19th birthday this year which means that it is his last appearance in the U-19 circuit. And it marks an important juncture of his career as Delhi has found some creditable left arm spinners after a long time.

“I never plan ahead. It is each match at a time for me. If I do well,hopefully I will also see myself at the higher level cricket,” explains Mishra whose next aim for now is to take his team in the finals.