Ranji Trophy: After slow start to life in Vidarbha, R. Samarth relishing new-found momentum

Samarth managed only 284 runs in seven games in his debut season for Vidarbha. But just three rounds into this Ranji Trophy campaign, he already has a century and a fifty to his credit.

Vidarbha batter R. Samarth said he was "very happy" with his batting form after notching a fifty for his side against Goa on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match at the VCA Jamtha Stadium in Nagpur.

The 33-year-old joined Vidarbha from Uttarakhand before the start of last season, but could only notch 284 runs at an average of 28.40 across seven appearances in his debut season for the side. However, he has begun the season in sparkling form, peeling off a heroic century against defending champion Jammu and Kashmir in the second round, and followed it up with a patient 53 in this match.

"I have not changed anything as such. It was just that I was batting in a different position. I was getting those starts, but I didn't convert those starts into many runs," Samarth reflected on his uptick in form after the second day's play.

"I think if I had got one big innings last year, I think that momentum would have continued the same way."

He came into this match fresh off scoring a stunning 143 against J&K in Srinagar to pull his side from 103-6 (trailing by more than 100) into a first-innings lead. Samarth called the knock "one of the better innings of my career" and noted the confidence it had given him.

"(It was) a huge boost because not many batters have got runs in that ground. It was doing quite a bit and helping the fast bowlers," he said. "Once you play those kinds of innings, you are in a different zone and in a frame of mind that generally a batter would love to be in. "

Samarth walked to the crease in the eighth over on Tuesday, and he said that the strong start from Goa's new-ball bowlers meant that he had to bide his time before opening up.

"It (my mindset) was initially to play off the new ball and see that the new ball had been negotiated well, because they had a couple of decent bowlers who are slightly dangerous with the new ball. But once that was negotiated, I think once you are settled on this wicket, you should be getting big runs," he said.

"All their fast bowlers initially, in the first 20 to 30 overs, bowled very disciplined lengths and we hardly got loose balls to hit. We had to convert certain balls, and credit to us for not getting tempted to play any kind of rash shot at that stage."

The only disappointment for Samarth will be his dismissal, caught behind against his former Karnataka teammate Vasuki Koushik.

"Definitely, it is pretty irritating that I got out to him," he said with a rueful smile. "It is a nice healthy competition that we have generally and even in league matches when we used to play in Bangalore, I would get the better of him but today it seems that he has gotten the better of me."