After a dreadful Indian Premier League 2023 with Delhi Capitals, India batter Prithvi Shaw has announced his return to form with a smashing double century in England Domestic One-Day Cup. For the unversed, this knock has come just a few days after a rarely unfortunate hit-wicket dismissal in his debut match for Northamptonshire.
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In what is Shaw’s first stint in the English domestic circuit, he has become just the second Indian batter after Cheteshwar Pujara to score a hundred in the competition.
Wearing Jersey No. 100, the Mumbai batter scored more than 200 runs for the second time in a List A match. Already the eighth Indian cricketer to do so, Shaw is only the fourth batter in the history of the format to have scored two (or more) double hundreds. The others to have achieved the milestone before him are Ali Brown, Rohit Sharma (thrice) and Travis Head.
Not been the easiest of rides for him lately, Shaw has again managed to attract eyeballs at a global level. A chance-less knock where he seldom looked in trouble, the right-handed batter played in his naturally aggressive style to take Somerset’s bowlers to the cleaners. Having not played international cricket for over two years now, this might just be the start of something special for him.
Prithvi Shaw Smashes 2nd List A Double Century To Enter Elite Club
On an excellent batting pitch at the County Ground, Shaw opened the innings with Emilio Gay (30) after captain Lewis McManus won the toss and chose to bat. Shaw cleared his intentions by scoring a boundary on the third ball that he faced today.
Shaw, who completed a half-century off 48 balls courtesy of another four, was able to reach the three-figure mark off his 81st ball. Pretty much unstoppable on his day, it was one such day for the 23-year old player. With him playing shots to all parts of the ground, even the commentators were convinced about the visiting bowlers’ incapability to dismiss him.
It is worth of a mention that Shaw’s next 50 runs came in just 24 deliveries. While most batters around the world slow down when nearing a personal milestone, it wasn’t the case with the former Indian U-19 World Cup-winning skipper.
Persisting with a relentless boundary-hitting spree saw Shaw take another 24 balls to complete a magnificent double century off just 129 deliveries. Needless to say that Shaw was elated after reaching the milestone and took his time to soak in the applause. Shaw, who eventually got out in the last over of the innings, ended up scoring a career-best 244 (153) comprising 28 fours and 11 sixes.
Prithvi Shaw Was Out Hit Wicket Against Gloucestershire On August 4
Chasing a 279-run target in his maiden innings against Gloucestershire at the College Ground on Friday, Shaw was batting well on 34 when an attempt to hook a short ball resulted in him dislodging the bails with his bat in the follow-through. A shocked expression saw him standing on the pitch for sometime before eventually making the long walk back to the pavilion.
Chasing a 243-run target against Sussex at their home ground on Sunday, Shaw again failed to convert a start into a substantial knock. Having said that, he was third time lucky after having registered his name in record books on Wednesday.
