Prithvi Shaw scores his fifth century in seventh first-class match on Day 1 of Mumbai's match against Andhra
Who can stop Prithvi Shaw? Mumbai's batting sensation yesterday clubbed his fifth hundred in his seventh first-class game as Andhra Pradesh bore the brunt of his brilliance on Day One of the Group C tie at the CSR Sharma college ground in Ongole yesterday. Andhra put Mumbai in and Shaw, 18, didn't seem to worry too much about side's early woes in the form of Jay Bista (4) and one-drop Shreyas Iyer (0) who were dismissed off consecutive balls by pacer Vijay Kumar in the fourth over of the game. The third wicket was vice-captain Suryakumar Yadav who was caught behind off Ayyappa Bandaru for 18 when Mumbai had 64 on the board. Shaw appeared unfazed and reached his half century in 77 balls. At the luncheon interval, Mumbai had reached 104 for three with Shaw on 63 and Siddhesh Lad on 19.
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Mumbai's Prithvi Shaw drives against Tamil Nadu in Mumbai last month. Pic/Sameer Markande
Lad, who had rescued Mumbai against Baroda last week with a determined unbeaten innings of 71, put on 125 runs for the fourth wicket with Shaw. "We guided each other during our partnership. We played patiently and encouraged each other to play better, which helped us to recover from our early loss. Lad departed 14 short of what would have been his sixth first-class century, but had well and truly helped Mumbai recover. The 41-time Ranji champions ended Day One on 248 for six. "I felt sad to see Siddhesh miss a century which he truly deserved," said Shaw. Lad hit nine fours and two sixes during his 203-ball stay at the crease. Like Iyer, skipper Aditya Tare was dismissed for a duck. Abhishek Nayar (21) and Dhawal Kulkarni (0) were the unbeaten batsmen for Mumbai.
Meanwhile, Shaw felt he did well to leaving more balls than playing them. "It was not easy to play shots as the ball was moving off the wicket. I told myself to be patient as I have to score runs under pressure. I time and again told myself that I have to be at the wicket for a longer time and that's why I left plenty of balls during my innings," Shaw told mid-day over the phone from Ongole. Shaw, who went on to score his fifth first-class century in his 13th innings, faced 173 balls and hit 14 fours as well as a six. Among Indian batsmen only one player has more first-class hundreds before the age of 18 — Sachin Tendulkar, who scored seven centuries. He attempted a straight drive when on 114, but mistimed it and was caught at cover point by Manyala Pranith off Bandaru. "I was determined to get a big ton. A double century was on my mind," Shaw rued. Looks like only Shaw can stop himself.
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