22-year-old Abhijeet Garg scores a triple ton v Delhi in the Col CK Nayudu Trophy

22-year-old Punjab batsman Abhijeet Garg scored a triple hundred against Delhi in the Col C K Nayudu Trophy at IS Bindra PCA Stadium, but his parents couldn’t catch a glimpse of his knock as Abhijeet’s younger brother Aditya Garg was admitted to Sector 6 hospital in Panchkula with low blood platelets due to dengue fever. It was only the third match for a young Abhijeet, who didn’t waste much time and called up his parents after settling down post the game.

Abhijeet shifted his base to Chandigarh in 2009, after his uncle Ashwani Garg, an advocate, convinced the youngster as he was coached by Sanjiv Pathania before working on his technique with Sukhwinder Tinku. Clearly, the triple ton meant a lot to the batter.

Only his third game

“Scoring a triple hundred in my third game for Punjab means a lot for me. When I was playing, my focus was on my batting. My parents told me not to worry as Aditya will recover soon. After my double hundred yesterday, he told me that I played well and I should bat well today as well. I wanted to capiltalise on yesterday’s double hundred. The way I was batting, my target was 400 but that’s cricket. I talked to Sanvir Singh about playing with patience initially. It was good to share a record second-wicket partnership for Punjab team,” said 22-year-old Abhijeet, who is pursuing LLB at Panjab University.

Showcasing dedication

The cricketer’s father heaped praise on his son and said that this particular knock is a testimony to the dedication of his kid.“Abhijeet started cricket at the insistence of my younger brother Ashwani Garg and we did not hesitate to send him to Chandigarh for training in 2009. Last evening, when he had come home after his double century, he was worried about Aditya. We had also planned to watch the match today but with Aditya’s platelet count coming low, we had to miss. We told him to concentrate on his match and this triple hundred shows his dedication. We do not have words to express our feelings on his achievement,” said 50-year-old Pankaj Garg, who is a district attorney in the Panchkula court.

“It was a superb innings from Abhijeet. Playing in his third game, he smashed a triple hundred. He came to bat on the first day and batted till tea on the third day which shows that he has a lot of patience. His strength has been his patience and when he got the chance, Abhijeet showed that. He is a good find for Punjab cricket and Sanvir too showed maturity during his double hundred,” said 53-year-old Punjab U-23 coach Sunil Saggi.