In Mumbai’s match, Ranji Trophy match against Assam on Wednesday, opening batter Prithvi Shaw made history. He became the second-highest individual score in Ranji Trophy history with a 379-run knock.
The achievement happened at the Amingaon Cricket Ground in Guwahati, and it’s not the only record he made. The opening batter also became the highest individual scorer in the history of Mumbai in a single Ranji Trophy innings.
He slammed the dominating maiden triple hundred in 383 balls and beat former player Sanjay Manjrekar’s record of 377 from a match against Hyderabad.
When Shaw made the record-breaking knock, he looked at the sky, took his helmet off, kissed the bat, and then hugged Ajinkya Rahane, as his teammates chanted his name from the dressing room.
With this triple ton, Shaw helped guide Mumbai to a mammoth 687 for four. The young opener also became the first Indian to score a triple hundred in Ranji Trophy.
This was Shaw’s first century in the Ranji Trophy this year. He scored 160 runs in his last seven innings, averaging 22.85 and posting a high score of 68. Despite constantly scoring in the domestic circuit, the 23-year-old has not been selected and will not play for India again until July 2021 in a T20I.
Before this match, Prithvi Shaw scored 240 not out of 283 balls, breaking his previous first-class cricket career record.
On Day 1, he slammed 33 fours and a six, helping Mumbai reach 397 for 2 at the time of stumps after adding 123 runs for the first wicket with Musheer Khan and an unbroken 200 for the third with Ajinkya Rahane.
Before playing in Guwahati, Shaw was struggling to make big runs in the last four matches. He has not played for India since July 25, 2021, when he made his T20I debut for India against Sri Lanka in Colombo.
During his career, Shaw finished second in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this season with 332 runs at a strike rate of 181.42 and a top score of 134 against Assam. He also scored 217 runs in seven innings in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, but he averages more than 50 in List A cricket.
After the match, the player received plenty of praise from both players and officials. Among the praises was a Twitter post from BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) secretary Jay Shah.
The post read, “Another entry into the record books! What an extraordinary inning @PrithviShaw! Congratulations on hitting the second-highest Ranji Trophy score of all time. A talent with immense potential. Super proud! @BCCIdomestic.”
Shaw even replied to the post with “Thank you so much @JayShah sir. Your words of encouragement mean a lot. Will keep working hard.” His reply to Shah’s praise has now gone viral on Twitter with thousands of likes.
Mumbai’s next match will be on January 17, Tuesday, and they will be going against Delhi. Currently, Mumbai is 2nd in the Elite B group rankings with two wins, one loss, and thirteen points.