MUMBAI: He might have been out of the Indian team for a fair while now, but Prithvi Shaw keeps reminding us of his enormous talent by making his bat talk from time to time. On Wednesday, the dashing opener, who has played five Tests, six ODIs and a T20I for India, roared back into form in grand style with a record-breaking 153-ball 244 for Northamptonshire in England’s Royal One-Day Cup tournament against Somerset on Wednesday.
The Mumbaikar is now the first Indian to score a double hundred in List A cricket in England. "Oh am I? I didn't know that. But, it feels great and hopefully, I can score more," is how Shaw reacted from Northampton, when TOI told him about his special feat, a day after he achieved it.
In the last Ranji Trophy season, Shaw smashed a mammoth 379 against Assam, going past Sanjay Manjerekar's record (377) to become the highest run-getter in a single innings for Mumbai. It was also the second-highest score by a batsman in the history of the Ranji Trophy. Having scored a maiden triple hundred in first-class cricket and two double hundreds in List A cricket, the youngster has shown that he has a penchant for scoring 'daddy hundreds.' His latest 'special' will keep his name somewhere in the reckoning too.
"I try not to think too much and take each game at a time. My main priority when I bat is to score runs for my team and make the team win games. But, I feel I am hitting the ball well and I hope that my runs do the talking," Shaw asserted.
Before he cracked a superb double hundred, Shaw hadn't been enjoying a great year. An ordinary IPL, in which he managed to put together just 106 runs in eight matches at an abysmal average of 13.25 set him further back in the pecking order at a time when the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad -his opening slot competitors-were putting in sizzling performances.
What made things more challenging was the delay for the visa, which meant that he had little time to adjust to the English conditions, which are completely different to those in India, especially with the ball moving around the whole day.
"As a modern cricketer, it is important to adapt to all the conditions. Initially, England was cold and rainy so I wore jumpers to keep myself warm. I am very grateful for my friend Brindon Bagirathan and Northamptonshire CCC for giving me this opportunity. I just want to keep winning games for Northampton and hopefully the rest will be given," Shaw said.
