Several records tumbled as Prithvi Shaw scored a classy 379 against Assam in a Ranji Trophy Elite Group B fixture on Wednesday. But he was not aware of any of the records until he walked back to the pavilion after being trapped leg before by Riyan Parag just before lunch.
“I did not know about that while I was batting,” Shaw told Sportstar after the day’s play.
The 23-year-old recorded the second-highest individual score in the tournament after B.B. Nimbalkar’s historic 443 and was also the eighth Mumbai batter to score a triple hundred. He went past Sanjay Manjrekar’s 377 - which was till now the best by a Mumbai batter - and also became the first player to score a triple hundred in Ranji Trophy, a double hundred in Vijay Hazare Trophy and a hundred in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
And the list did not end there. It was also the highest score by an Indian opener in first-class cricket.
Not a man of numbers, Shaw did not think too much about these but was disappointed to have missed out on a coveted 400 by a whisker.
I was very disappointed because you don’t get such opportunities often,” he said.
Shaw looked set to reach the 400-run mark, but fell short by 21 runs as his India U-19 team-mate Riyan Parag denied him the opportunity, trapping him leg-before. There was a loud appeal from Riyan, though the umpire was initially not interested. But a few seconds later, he raised his finger, as Shaw shook his head in disbelief.
“I am not saying it was a wrong decision, but when I came back and saw the video, the ball was perhaps missing the stump. I told sir (match referee Arindam Sarkar) also, but I am sure, on the field, the umpires must have thought that it was hitting the stumps,” Shaw said.
“It is hard to understand at times, and such things happen. The umpires are also not at fault because they obviously went by what they saw on the field,” he added.
“Obviously, getting out before lunch was a bit disappointing. It would have been good to stay on for a while and reach that milestone. But it’s okay, such things happen…”
Coming into the game with just 168 runs in seven innings, at an average of 22.85, Shaw was under pressure, but he believes that this will boost his confidence.
“Whether I play a club match or an international game, I play every game as a professional match. This will be a boost for me because I want to take the momentum going.”
“This innings is over, and I have forgotten about it, and now, it’s over to the next. It’s history now, and it’s important to focus on the next two days and then the next game,” he said.
“Assam is a good side, but it’s just that we batted well. They are also batting well, and we need to have the patience to get those wickets…”
After ending the first day’s play at an unbeaten 240, there was obvious pressure of reaching a triple century. But Shaw did not lose sleep over it. “ Woh pressure lene se pehle hi so gaya main,” (I fell asleep before the pressure set in), he said with a smile.
“Obviously, I was flooded with messages and calls, but I did not think about the future. I had my dinner and just went off to sleep…”
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