Even after batting for almost 10 hours, spread over two days, en route a record innings of 252 runs on Ranji Trophy debut, Suved Parkar was as fresh after the second day’s play of Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy quarterfinal versus Uttarakhand as he was while receiving the cap from former India opener W.V. Raman on the first morning.
Obviously an ice bath had helped but the face was glittering. After all, the 21-year-old became only the 12th Indian to mark his First Class debut with a double hundred and he went on to become the fifth to cross the 250-run mark in his maiden outing.
In fact, Parkar, batting 104 overnight, fell agonisingly short of Mumbai head coach Amol Muzumdar’s record 260 on debut in 1993-94. “Yesterday evening, Adu bhai (Aditya Tare) had mentioned about Amol sir’s 260-run record. I was a bit disappointed since it would have been nice to get to the milestone. That was the goal,” Parkar said on Tuesday.
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Parkar acknowledged Sarfaraz Khan’s help in the middle. “He was constantly talking to me and discussing how to rotate strike and he ensured I wasn’t under pressure,” he said.
Muzumdar, meanwhile, was gunning for his protege to surpass the landmark.
“It was brilliant, a spectacular innings. Life has come a full circle but it would have been fitting to see him get to 261,” Muzumdar told Sportstar . “I didn’t speak too much with him after he came back, having experienced what a batter is going through after that kind of a knock but I’ll have a word with later in the evening.”
Muzumdar though heaped lavish praise on Parkar’s flawless innings. “He was so close but it doesn’t take anything away from the knock. His kadak defence and body language stood out. During my three decades [of] involvement in domestic cricket, rarely have I seen such a knock. Found the gaps to perfection and never got tired.”
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