Afghanistan's Baheer Shah scores double century on First-Class debut

Young Baheer Shah from Afghanistan achieved a rare feat as he slammed a double ton on his First-Class debut. He’s only the 17th cricketer in the history of the game to have played such a record-setting innings. His match-winning knock came while playing for the Speen-Ghar Region against Amo Region, in the Alokozay Ahmad Shah Abdali Four-Day Tournament.

Shah is only 18 years old at the time and has previously played for his nation in the U-19 games. He’s also been a regular feature in the Kunar Province team, having played for the Kunar Province U-17 team earlier. The record knock was played out at the Ghazi Amanullah Khan Cricket Stadium in Nangarhar.

Baheer Shah enthralls the crowd

Having won the toss, the Speen-Ghar team had decided to bat first in the match. Openers Hamayun Omar and Nasir Omar played brilliantly to stitch a 100-run partnership and gave their team the dream start. Captain Shaukat Zaman led from the front as he built up a personal score of 169 runs. However, it was Baheer Shah who stole the show and enthralled the onlookers with his commendable batting skills. His innings constituted 34 fours and a six and was paced at a remarkable strike rate of 60.95.

Interestingly, Shah is also the vice-captain of the Speen-Ghar team. His mammoth knock took his team’s total to a staggering 605, making the opposition falter under the immense load of runs. Speen-Ghar eventually went on to emerge victorious and clinched the match by an innings and 46 runs. Shah, on his part, registered his name in the record books as he became only the 17th cricketer in the history of the game to have accomplished the outstanding feat. His score also ranks second in the list of Highest runs on First-Class debut, only behind Amol Mazumdar’s 260 for Mumbai (then Bombay) during the 1993-94 Ranji Trophy season.