Shaw dominates Chandigarh with third-fastest double century in Ranji Trophy history, with his coming in 141 balls.
As Maharashtra prepared to attempt to force an outright result in an Elite Group B match against Chandigarh in Chandigarh, Prithvi Shaw hit the third-fastest double century in Ranji Trophy history on Monday. It was his first first-class century for Maharashtra and the 14th overall.
Shaw reached the milestone in 141 balls, only behind Mumbai’s Ravi Shastri (off 123 balls against Baroda in 1984–85) and Hyderabad’s Tanmay Agarwal (off 119 balls against Arunachal Pradesh in 2024–25). In that match, Shastri, incidentally, became the first and only Indian to hit six sixes in an over in first-class cricket.
Maharashtra declared their second innings at 359 for 3 after Shaw’s 222, which included 29 fours and five sixes, helped them score at 6.9 per over. After that, Chandigarh finished strongly at 129 for 1, requiring an additional 335 runs.
Shaw’s second significant knock in four games for his new team is this one. He started his Maharashtra debut last week against Kerala in Trivandrum with a four-ball duck. In the second innings, he scored an aggressive 75 to help solidify their advantage in a draw. Shaw only scored eight runs in the first innings in Chandigarh before his double-century put him back on track.
Shaw’s Maharashtra resurgence
Following a disappointing 2024–25 season in which he was left out of the Mumbai setup across formats, Shaw’s fortunes have turned around. His dismissal at the time was attributed to his lack of discipline and poor fitness. Additionally, he was not sold in last November’s IPL mega auction.
In the pre-season Buchi Babu Invitational event in Tamil Nadu, where he scored a century in his maiden game, Shaw discussed his work behind the scenes, including his diet and conditioning, ahead of the next domestic season.
“I mean, these two-three months [before the season] I had my trainer [working with me],” he had said. “He used to come personally to train me. And I’ve got a dietitian as well, and he gives me the meals [plan] and everything – like what a dietitian does. So, all this stuff in three-four months has really changed me physically and mentally as well. And, you know, it can be seen on the field.”
Given that Abhimanyu Easwaran appears to be out of favour for the time being, Shaw’s knocks could serve as a reminder to the selectors of his formidable presence at the bat should a reserve opener need to be chosen, even though he is unlikely to enter India discussions just yet. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devdutt Padikkal, who would have been contenders, now bat in the middle order.
Shaw has participated in five Test matches thus far, the most recent of which took place in Adelaide during the renowned 2020–21 tour against Australia. In July 2021, he made his final appearance for India overall, playing for a second-string India team in three ODIs and one T20I in Sri Lanka.