Domestic cricket in India has long been held as the benchmark to screen young prodigies and give them a chance at the international stage. The stage and the various tournaments that take place are perfect to hone both upcoming and seasoned cricketers.
Often, they are selected to the national team on the basis of their domestic performance. Leagues like the IPL in India have further added to the opportunities that young cricketers can now test themselves in.
In 2016, players like Murugan Ashwin and Pawan Negi were auctioned for big amounts while a lot of stars like Munaf Patel and Pravin Kumar failed to attract the attention of the big clubs in the league. Looking at domestic records, there have been some brilliant performances that are worthy of international recognition.
The name Bhausaheb Nimbalkar is known throughout cricket circles in India as he was just short of breakirng Sir Don Bradman's then record for the highest individual innings by scoring Nimbalkar scored 443 in the 1948-49 season of the Ranji Trophy.
Another record worth mentioning is the famous 577 run partnership between Vijay Hazare and Gul Mohammad which at that time was a record for any wicket in domestic cricket. We look at 5 such bizarre records in Indian domestic cricket that deserve more recognition.
1) 15-year-old Mumbai cricketer Pranav Dhanawade scores a record 1009
In January 2016 Pranav Dhanawade wrote his name into cricket history by scoring 1009 not out off 323 balls while playing for school level, peppering his epic knock with 59 sixes and 129 fours. Helping his side KC Gandhi school amass 1465/3, he helped them go past Victoria’s 1107 against New South Wales made in 1926 and beat Arya Gurukul by a record innings and 1382 runs.
The Indian schoolboy in the process broke AEJ Collins’ 116-year-old record of the highest individual score of 628 in 1899 and also bested the previous highest Indian individual score of 546 by Prithvi Shaw. Since then, he has been invited to play for one of Mumbai’s A-grade teams, Worli Cricket Club.
However since the extraordinary feat, the achievement has been mired in controversies of 25 missed chances, 10-year-old pacers and 30-yard boundaries, that seek to downplay the record of the 15-year-old Dhanawade.
2) B Manoj Kumar & Mohammad Shahbaz Tumbi string 721-run partnership
The two schoolboys from Hyderabad batting for St Peter's High School put on a record 721 to break the 664-run partnership made by two other boys from Mumbai's Shardashraam, Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli, two decades earlier. Mohammad Shahbaz Tumbi (324 not out) and B Manoj Kumar (320 not out) were playing a 40-over one day game against St Phillip High School in the inter-school Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) league.
15 November 2006 became a red-letter day in Indian cricket as the two young boys set up a spectacular piece of history. The umpires scoffed at suggestions that something was amiss and recalled : "There was only one sight to be seen — the ball repeatedly racing to the boundary”.
Since the match, the boys from Hyderabad have received a lot of praise and there have been comparisons if they can ever emulate the deeds of Tendulkar and Kambli. As of now, let us just appreciate the persuasive talent of these youngsters suddenly thrust into the limelight.
3) In 1997–98 Rahul Sanghvi’s 8/15 set a world record in a List A match
Rahul Sanghvi set a world record in 1997-98 when he took 8–15 for Delhi against Himachal Pradesh in a List A match. This stunning performance remains till date the best by any bowler in List A cricket.
The performance, which helped Delhi beat Himachal Pradesh by 90 runs, helped Sanghvi to reach the top of the bowling charts that season with 16 wickets and also influenced his inclusion in the ODI squad two months later.
Sangvi’s figures helped him beat Michael Holding’s record which had seen him run through Sussex at Hove with 8 for 21. Only Chaminda Vass has taken 8 wickets in an ODI (8 for 19 against Zimbabwe).
4) The 1948-49 Ranji Trophy semi-final holds the record for the highest match aggregate in the history of First-Class cricket
There has always been a fascination with matches producing high scores and batsmen and teams scoring maximum runs are often lauded. in 1948-49 Bombay and Maharashtra were engaged in an epic run feast that produced a total of 2,376 runs - still a world record – in a Ranji Trophy match at Poona.
Bombay managed to score 651 batting first but Maharashtra had their hopes pinned on Bhausaheb Nimbalkar who had scored 443 not out against Kathiawar at the same venue earlier in the season but his wicket was an early setback and Manohar Datta’s 361-minute stay had brought him 143 and helped the team conclude their innings at 407.
Bombay’s second innings brought Dattu Phadkar’s second century of the match and set an improbable target of 959 runs for Maharashtra’s impossible victory. They managed to score 604 but lost the match and provided Bombay the winning ticket and a triumphant passage through to the finals.
5) Jammu and Kashmir lost to Railways without capturing any wicket in either innings
In 1960-61, Jammu and Kashmir set one of the most ignoble records in Indian domestic cricket when they lost to Railways in the Ranji Trophy. They lost the match without capturing any wickets of their opponents in either of the innings.
J&K managed to score 92 and 159 in their two innings but Railways’ openers, V Mehra and Budhi Kunderan, who remained not out in both the innings of the match, comfortably managed to guide their team to a win with centuries in the first innings. Kunderan had also scored 205 in his first Ranji appearance against J&K.
(Another match which is considered interesting in Indian domestic cricket from the point of view of the most one-sided match is that between Karnataka and Kerala in Ranji 1977/78 which Karnataka won by an innings and 186 runs as both openers scored double centuries to total Karnataka’s 1st innings score of 451. This victory had then set a new Ranji record bettering the one set by Chetan Chauhan and MS Gupte in Maharashtra against Vidarbha in 1972 and also going past the Test record of 413 by Pankaj Roy and Vinoo Mankad against New Zealand.)
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
