Hyderabad's Tanmay Agarwal shatters record books to register fastest 300 in first-class cricket

Hyderabad batter Tanmay Agarwal etched his name in record books as he registered the fastest triple hundred in first-class cricket during Day 1 of Ranji Trophy fixture against Arunachal Pradesh on Friday, January 26. Agarwal reached the landmark in just 147 balls finishing the day unbeaten on 323* (160) clobbering 33 fours and 21 sixes in his innings at NexGen Cricket Ground, Hyderabad.

The 28-year-old played at a breathtaking strike rate of 201.87 as he powered Hyderabad to 529/1 at stumps in just 48 overs. His blitzkrieg earned him the laurel of having the best strike rate by an Indian batter in first-class cricket with a minimum of 200 runs and fourth-best overall. The southpaw completed his double hundred in 119 balls and further took just 28 more balls to enter the exclusive 300 club unleashing his wrath on Arunachal Pradesh bowlers.

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Having already shattered record books, there are a lot more historic feats waiting for Tanmay on the second day of the game as well. The opening batter, who has currently hit 20 sixes in his innings, is just four more maximums away from registering the most sixes in a first-class innings. The record is currently held by New Zealand’s Colin Munro, who smacked 23 sixes in 2014/15 playing for Auckland against Central Districts during his innings of 281.

Furthermore, Agarwal is another 121 runs away from the historic feat of the highest individual score by an Indian in first-class cricket. The feat is currently with Bhausaheb Nimbalkar who scored an unbeaten 443* for Maharashtra way back in 1948. On the other hand, the overall highest first-class individual score is against the name of legendary West Indies batter Brian Lara who scored 501* off 427 for Warwickshire against Durham on 2^nd June 1994.

Rahul Singh also scored 185 (105)

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Meanwhile, apart from Tanmay, Hyderabad captain Rahul Singh also played a brilliant knock of 185 (105) as the duo got involved in a massive stand of 449 for the first wicket.

Earlier in the day, Arunachal Pradesh were bundled out for 172 with Techi Doria being the lone warrior with his unbeaten 97*. Seamers Chama Milind (3/36) and Kartikeya Kak (3/28) picked three wickets each for Hyderabad.

A total of 701 runs were scored on Day 1 which was just the second instance of over 700 runs being scored in a single day in first-class cricket.