Mumbai's Pranav Dhanawade becomes the first player to score 1000 runs in an innings

Published - 05 Jan 2016, 13:48 IST | Updated - 05 Jan 2016, 13:48 IST

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Mumbai-based Pranav Dhanawade on Monday became the first cricketer to score 1000 in an innings after he hit a hardly-believable score of 1009 not out against Arya Gurukul School, Kalyan to break 116-year-old batting record on the opening day of the U-16 HT Bhandari Trophy Inter-School Cricket Tournament. He brought up his 1000th run with a six at long-on. His innings was studded with 124 boundaries and 59 sixes. The team declared their innings on 1465 after the batsman had scored 1009 runs from 323 balls with a strike rate of 312.38, he stood at the crease for 395 minutes.

Pranav had finished day one on 652 not out after hitting 82 fours and 42 sixes for KC Gandhi School against Arya Gurukul School. Only two individuals have managed to make 600-plus scores in the entire cricket history, which is now nearly 300 years old!

The second best before this exploits was of Australian Charles Eady who had scored 566 in 1901. Mumbai’s Prithvi Shaw (546 in 2013) came close and held the Indian record when he bettered his compatriot Armaan Jaffer’s 473, scored in a Harris Shield match in 2013. Armaan also had slammed 498 in the Under-14 Giles Shield (in 2010) to break the record held by another compatriot Sarfaraz Khan (439 in 2009-10).

Pranav hails from a humble background, his father Prashant is an auto-rickshaw driver. His father got to know about his son’s extraordinary achievement through a parent.

“I actually got to watch him only after he had crossed 300. One of his friend’s father called me and asked, ‘you are not at the ground?’ So I immediately rushed to the venue. It is a proud day. It’s a reward for 11 years of his hard work. He has not even got the time to talk to his mother. She is keenly waiting for him to return home,” said Prashant.

His father feels his selection in Mumbai U-16 team would be his first dream to be fulfilled dream. “I want my son to become a great cricketer. He has proved that he has the talent today. Cricket is not an easy sport and expensive too. I spent extra hours driving an autorickshaw in order to afford the cricket gear for my son,” he explained.

The opening batsman had his coach Mobin Shaikh besides him to push ahead, “I had promised my coach that I will get a century this time as I had got out in 80’s in the first two games. When I got the chance to bat, I was desperate to get a three digit score,” said Pranav.

Shaikh recollects how Pranav came with his father Prashant to train at his Modern Cricket Club. “He is a talented wicket-keeper batsman and a very hard working lad. I did not ask him to pay the fee when he came to my club with his father. If he keeps doing well, he can definitely achieve higher goals. These days fifties, 60s or even a hundred or two will not make a big impact. He needed a very big score and now that he has achieved it, hopefully he will carry on from here,” Shaikh said.