It was a record-breaking day at the NFC Cricket Ground in Hyderabad during the Ranji Trophy match between Hyderabad and Arunachal Pradesh. Hyderabad opener Tanmay Agarwal broke all records and finished unbeaten with 323 runs at Stumps on Day 1. Hyderabad ended the day at 529/1 in just 48 overs in reply to Arunachal Pradesh’s 172 runs.
During his innings of 323 runs off 160 balls, he played at a strike rate of 201.88, which included 33 fours and 21 sixes. This was the fourth-best strike rate by a batsman in a Ranji Trophy match and also the best by an Indian batsman in first-class cricket.
Hyderabad batsman Tanmay Agarwal leads record day against Arunachal Pradesh
Tanmay Agarwal became the fastest batsman to reach the 300-run mark in the history of first-class cricket. Tanmay played a total of 147 balls to reach 300 runs. Apart from Tanmay, his teammate Rahul Singh Gahlaut scored 185 runs off 105 balls and hit a total of 26 fours and three sixes. Tanmay Agarwal added 449 runs for the first wicket, which is the fifth highest partnership by an Indian pair in the history of first-class cricket.
Tanmay Agarwal will now aim for the score of 443 runs, which is the highest score by an Indian batsman in first-class cricket. Bhausaheb Nimbalkar remained unbeaten on 443 against Kathiawar in 1948 and if Tanmay can achieve the record, it will be huge for the right-handed batsman. The highest score by a batsman in first-class cricket is 501*, scored by West Indies legend Brian Lara against Warwickshire in 1994, which may also be a record Tanmay Agarwal would like to beat.
Apart from this feat, Tanmay now needs 3 more sixes to surpass New Zealand batsman Colin Munro, and become the batsman to hit the most sixes in a first-class innings. Munro smashed 23 sixes while playing for Auckland against Central Districts in 2014.
A total of 701 runs were made on day 1 of the match, which is only the second time the mark has been surpassed in first-class cricket. The last time this mark was surpassed was about 72 years ago, in 1950, when two teams were able to make more than 700 runs in a single day of a first-class match.
Arunachal Pradesh scored 172 runs in their first innings, in which Techi Doria was the top scorer of the innings and was unbeaten on 97 runs. Apart from him, no other batsman could stay in the crease and he was dismissed cheaply without breaking the 10-run mark.
Divyanshu Yadav and Techi Sonam were the other two leading run-scorers in Arunachal Pradesh’s innings and they scored 29 and 16 runs respectively. Chama Milind and Kartikeya Kak picked up 3 wickets each, while Tanay Thyagarajan was able to pick 2 wickets. Elligaram Sanketh and Palakodeti Sairam picked up 1 wicket each.
Hyderabad were demoted to the elite group plate group after failing to win their must-win match against Delhi in the last edition of the Ranji Trophy. Hyderabad are currently at the top of the Plate Group and have won three out of three games.