Nishant Sindhu has spent 420 minutes at the crease so far in Mumbai’s backyard in the Ranji Trophy clash, batting through 333 of them in the first innings alone. After a brief respite of just 31 minutes, including the tea interval, the Haryana all-rounder was back out in the middle following the host’s decision to enforce the follow-on. He added another 87 minutes to his vigil, showing that patience and attrition remain as relevant as power-hitting in modern cricket.

Nishant’s unbeaten 105 was a lesson in application on a surface that offered increasing assistance to the spinners. Having batted in khadoos, a term synonymous with Mumbai’s batting gharana, Nishant stated that the home pitch at Lahli over the last few seasons helped him tackle the Mumbai spinners.

“For a while now, it has been spinning more compared to seam over there. So, having played there, it felt easier to play here,” the soft-spoken Nishant said.

A member of India’s Under-19 World Cup-winning team in 2022, Nishant has since become an important part of Haryana’s domestic set-up while gaining exposure to the IPL environment. He was part of the Chennai Super Kings squad without getting a game before featuring regularly for Gujarat Titans in the 2026 season.

The experience, he said, has taught him to temper individual instincts according to the team’s needs.

“When you are young, you tend to think that this is my game and I will play it that way. But speaking with them (MS Dhoni and others), I have learnt to play for the team according to the situation,” he said.

That adaptability was evident in his innings against Mumbai. With wickets falling around him, Nishant resisted the temptation to force the pace, instead concentrating on batting deep and giving Haryana a chance to fight back.

“The demand was to bat long. The wicket was not completely flat. The wicket will deteriorate further, so I will have to bat with more focus tomorrow,” he said.