Defense was important but I also looked to dominate the bowlers: Prithvi Shaw

Prithvi Shaw made headlines for his sublime century in the Duleep Trophy final. Named as a late replacement for Ambati Rayudu, Shaw grabbed his chances with both hands. By his own admission, the Mumbaikar was nervous leading up to the game and found himself facing Test star Ishant Sharma in the first over of the game.

He struck 18 fours and a six in his 154 run knock which came off 249 balls. The 17-year old became the youngest centurion in Duleep Trophy finals and is line to follow in the footsteps of the great Sachin Tendulkar if he manages to score a ton on his Irani Trophy debut. The opening batsman had a 211-run stand for the third wicket with his skipper Dinesh Karthik, who helped himself to yet another century in the domestic circuit. Both deflated the India Blue side for the best part of the day before the Raina-led side fought back to claim three wickets in the last 5 overs of play.

‘Just wanted to be patient’

Shaw recognized the significance of having someone as experienced as Karthik to bat within a big game. “I was told by DK Bhai (Dinesh Karthik) not to play any risky shot. I did not have any specific plans but patience had to be exercised on this pitch,” said 17-year-old Prithvi Shaw.

Shaw has a reputation of scoring his runs briskly but mixed caution with aggression beautifully in Lucknow on the opening day of the final. His attacking style of batting helped him score runs today, as pointed out by the man himself. “I just stayed positive. I knew defense would be important but I also looked to dominate the bowler. My game is always aimed at taking the initiative and it worked today.”

Shaw praises Karthik

Shaw was a toddler when Karthik made his India debut back in 2004 and gained immensely while batting with the experienced campaigner today. “He is a very positive player and I gained a lot from his guidance. This tournament has been a nice learning process for me. An important lesson learned in this innings was to pick the ball to hit,” Shaw added.

Shaw has all the ingredients to become an international cricketer if he carries on with the same hunger for a period of time. He has loads of time ahead of him and a mentor like Rahul Dravid at his disposal which augurs well for the Mumbaikar.