NAGPUR: Walk into bat, take guard, get the feel of the pitch and then go cracking - Any coaching manual would have it in the to-do list for batters. The 18-year-old Jagjot Singh Sasan, Vidarbha's promising allrounder, has a manual of his own.
No matter what the situation is, if a ball is in his range, he will fearlessly hit it out of the park. Jagjot, the top performer in Vinoo Mankad Trophy that Vidarbha won, exhibited his trait under pressure in the semifinal against Maharashtra on Friday. He went in there and had a couple of sixes and fours to his name in the first 10 balls itself. He rushed to 47 not out in 26 balls and Vidarbha never looked back from there till the title landed in their pocket.
"No matter what the age group is and who is bowling, Jagjot believes that he will not let the bowler get on top of him and dictate terms. He feels he should turn the tables on them. His self-belief sets him apart from others of his age," said his coach Sanjog Binkar.
The product of Ruby Sporting Club is known for making headlines with his heroics with the bat and chipping with wickets at crucial junctures. In this season's Vinoo Mankad Trophy, he is Vidarbha's leading bowler with 14 wickets and second highest run-getter with 233 runs.
The attacking batter, who can bowl good off-spin, has shaped his career so far with consistent impactful knocks. His 173 off 200 against Assam in Cooch Behar Trophy in the last season brought Jagjot into the limelight. A match later, he stamped his authority with a resilient 104 against Punjab.
Both these knocks were constructed either after a mini collapse or under pressure. It underlined that he belongs to that creed which enjoys performing under the pump.
The teenager had followed the similar script earlier too during his graduation from under-16 to under-19. Jagjot had hit the bull's eye just after entering the under-19 group with a century for Indian Gymkhana in the Dorairajan Trophy, a tournament considered as an audition for VCA pre-season senior camp. From there, the allrounder went on to become a vital cog in Vidarbha's under-19 scheme of things.
"What has worked for Jagjot is his ability to grasp think tank's instructions and reading the match situation quicker. To top it up, he frames his response to match situations in such a way that the team comes out victorious most of the times," said Binkar.
The series of performances Jagjot has compiled over the last few years shows that he is ready for the next challenge in the senior team. There is no other (spin) allrounder with such strong backing of performance behind him in his age group.
