Prithvi Shaw cracks 546; eclipses Sachin Tendulkar.

After the euphoric retirement of Sachin Tendulkar, it is the turn of young Prithvi Pankaj Shaw to hog limelight today.

Writers on Sachin for sure would refer to his unbeaten 326; Vinod Kambli’s 349 and their 664 partnership in a school match – playing for Shardashram Vidyamandir against St Xavier's in Feb 1988; the Xavier’s attack was  led by Sairaj Bahutule.

One popular Q is who was the batsman, who had to wait all the while…. It was another prodigiously talented Amol Muzumbdar, who played for Andhra, Mumbai and Assam.  A righthanded stroke maker, he holds the record for most runs made in Ranji Trophy displacing Amarjeet Kaypee ~ both of them never played for the Nation is a sad fact.

18 years later in Nov 2006 – Kambli, Sachin record was broken when St. Peters High School made 721 without loss in 40 overs against St. Philip’s High School at Hyderabad.   Openers Manoj Kumar and Mohammed Shaibaz, both 13, hit an unbeaten 320 and 324 respectively in the Hyderabad Cricket Association Inter-School Under-13 tournament.  Manoj's innings consumed only 120 deliveries and included 46 fours, while Shaibaz needed just 116 balls and hit 57 fours to batter the St Phillip's High School attack.

In 2011, another youngster came to limelight…  it was Maharashtra’s middle order leftie – Vijay Hari Zol who was later signed up by RCB too.  In an U19 match for Maharashtra, Zol scored an unbeaten 451 off 467 deliveries, batting for almost eleven hours and hit 53 boundaries and two sixes in that record-breaking innings.

Now it is all about Prithvi Shaw, a 14-year-old from Mumbai, who entered the record books after smashing 546 runs - the highest score by an Indian batsman in minor cricket - during a Harris Shield match at the Azad Maidan in Mumbai. Shaw's innings lasted 367 minutes over two days and included a whopping 85 fours and five sixes which helped his team, Rizvi Springfield, take an 899-run first-innings lead in the A division match against St Francis D'Assisi.

The Baronet Club's ground on the eastern edge of the Azad Maidan was easy to spot today as the news of Shaw's feat spread quickly. The local print media, which covers the tournament regularly, had the company of mediapersons from national dailies and news channels. Mobbed by television cameras after the end of Rizvi's innings, a calm Shaw said, "It is a good score for me and my team. Our coach just asked me to concentrate on every ball. The only plan was to score as many runs as we could. I wasn't thinking of a record, but it feels good."

Shaw is no stranger to Mumbai cricket circles. In the past, he has not only made news for being a heavy-scorer in the local tournaments but also for reportedly being praised by Sachin Tendulkar. 

Shaw's story, like several others', is one of hard work.  He makes long trips in train and practices hard.  He is currently the captain of the Mumbai Under-16 team, which includes his seniors from Rizvi - Armaan Jaffer, Mumbai and India opener Wasim Jaffer's nephew, and Sarfaraz Khan, who has progressed to India Under-19s. During the course of his innings on Wednesday, Shaw went past the previous records set by these two batsmen - in 2009, Sarfaraz had scored 439, which was bettered to 498 by Armaan in 2010-11. Armaan also scored 473 in February 2013, in the Giles Shield.

In International scene,  at least 10 players have made 400 or more…. Topping the list is Brian Lara with 501 not out against Durham in June 1994; followed by Haniff Mohamad’s 499 in 1959 against Bahwalpur; Don Bradman’s 452 n.o against Queensland…. Indian BB Nimbalkar scored 443 n.o against Kathiwar playing for Maharashtra in 1948.  While Brian Lara made unbeaten 400 in a Test in Apr 2004 against England,  the next Indian is Sanjay Manjrekar who made 377 against Hyderabad in Apr 1991 and MV Sridhar of Hyderabad who made 366 against Andhra in Jan 1994.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

20^th Nov. 2013.

Photo of Shaw and news : ESpn cricinfo.com