Ajay Rohera, MP batsman creates new world record on Ranji Trophy debut

Ajay Rohera, the 21-year-old from Dewas, Madhya Pradesh created history in the Ranji Trophy clash against Hyderabad in Indore on Saturday. Rohera smashed 267 in his debut game and broke Amol Muzumdar’s 24-year record of 260 as Madhya Pradesh declared on 562/4, ahead by 438 runs. Muzumdar had achieved the score in his first game for Bombay against Haryana in Faridabad 1994. Rohera finished unbeaten on 267 and the knock included 21 fours and five sixes. The right-hander’s magnificent knock, combined with Avesh Khan’s brilliant spell of 7/24 which bowled Hyderabad out for 124, gave Madhya Pradesh the perfect opportunity to seal the game.

In the history of First Class cricket, the highest score on debut was by Reginald ‘Tip’ Foster when he smashed 287 for Australia against England in 1903. It still remains the highest ever score on debut in Test or First-Class cricket. No cricketer has ever hit a Ranji Trophy triple century on debut. Rohera also missed the chance to become the first Ranji triple centurion in 2018, with the last one being smashed by Mayank Agarwal for Karnataka against Maharashtra at the MCA stadium in Pune.

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Rohera’s brilliant 267 was also the highest individual score by a Madhya Pradesh batsman in the Ranji Trophy, beating Jai Prakash Yadav’s mark of 265 which he achieved in 1999 in a clash against Railways at the Maharani Usharaje Trust Cricket Ground in Indore.

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It was a day of records for the Ranji Trophy, for in the Delhi vs Andhra game at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Gautam Gambhir, playing in his final cricket game, scored a century in his last game. The left-hander was given a magnificent guard of honour by the Andhra players and one of the fans even ran on to the Kotla wicket to touch Gambhir’s feat. He started off aggressively on the second day and by the close, Delhi had built a good platform. Gambhir achieved his milestone at the beginning of day 3 and this will be another magnificent chapter in the life of this cricketer. However, Gambhir fell for a magnificent 112 as he edged Shoaib Mohammad Khan to wicketkeeper KS Bharath.