Reminding the new selection committee about his presence, classy opener Prithvi Shaw slammed a magnificent double century – a flawless, unbeaten 240 off 283 balls which was studded with as many as 33 fours and six - to put Mumbai in the driver’s seat against Assam on the opening day of their Elite Group B Ranji Trophy fifth round encounter at the brand-new, picturesque Amingaon Cricket Ground in Guwahati.
The only thing that seemed to briefly halt the rampaging 23-year-old’s charge on Tuesday was the sound of goods trains passing by near the ground- which is hosting its maiden first-class game – that would force play to halt for a brief while. With Shaw in such belligerent mood, Mumbai raced away to 397 for 2 in 90 overs by stumps after being asked to bat first by Assam.
Smashing the Assam attack to pulp, the fired-up young gun romped to his double hundred off just 235 balls, sharing a mammoth, unfinished 200-run stand of 298 balls for the third wicket with Ajinkya Rahane, who was batting on 73 (140b, 5x4).
It’s the sort of knock -he smashed his hundred before lunch on Day 1-that suddenly puts him back in contention for an India berth in all the formats of the game, particularly the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. “The (India) call-up didn’t come even when I was doing well. I’m trying to score as many runs as possible for Mumbai. I’m not thinking when they (the selectors) would pick me. I’m trying to give my best for Mumbai and help them win matches. I’m just focusing on myself. I’m visualizing if my process is going fine, am I doing the small, small things right?,” Shaw told TOI from Guwahati.
An India comeback, though, won’t be easy for Prithvi considering the stiff competition for the opener’s slot. “There’s no point thinking about what’s not in your hands. As I told you, I’m just focused on what I can do. I sit in my room and visualise what I can do well, every day. Since the last 6-7 months, I’ve started maintaining a diary in which I keep writing what things I did right, what I did wrong, and where I can improve. Am I following my processes correctly every day? Am I sleeping and eating properly before a match? There will be times when I score runs, and there’ll be times when I don’t, that thing will go on, but I’m just bothered about my processes,” he explained.
Taking a single off Rohan Alam, a fired-up Shaw raced away to his 12th first-class century, which came off just 107 balls and included 15 fours and a six. It was Shaw’s first century in this edition of the Ranji Trophy, and just the second time that he went past fifty. Providing the perfect start to Mumbai, he forged a 123-run opening stand with Musheer Khan (42, 72b, 5x4, 1x6), who replaced an ill Yashasvi Jaiswal, off just 142 balls.
“I was batting well (so far this Ranji season), but wasn’t able to play a big knock. I tried to play patiently today. I was trying not to be too flashy,” Shaw said. While this was his second double hundred in first-class cricket, the swashbuckling batsman is primed for what could be his maiden triple hundred on Wednesday. “I’ll start from zero tomorrow! I won’t think that I’m batting on 240. I’ll try to play it like a fresh innings,” he asserted.
All the talk in the media trashing his attitude-there’s a clip of a TV journalist questioning his off-the-field habits just before this game-doesn’t bother Shaw. “I don’t even listen or watch all that. I know how hard I’m working, and how truthful I am. I ignore these things, which I’ve been facing for a long time. I try not to see such things, and even if I see them, I’m trying to ignore people who are trying to pull me down. I have belief in myself. Till the time I’m right, no one can do anything (to me),” he stressed.
While he isn’t off twitter, Shaw stressed that he has minimised its use in recent times. “I’m not much active on social media these days, it’s been a while since I tweeted. My manager tweets on my behalf. I can’t stop tweeting completely because at times, I have to put promotional tweets for brands,” he said.
The fact that he hit 132 off his runs in fours, but just hit one six, shows that he was determined to not give his wicket away easily today. “The ball was staying low at times. If you wanted to hit in the air, you wouldn’t get elevation. The outfield here is very good. If you hit the ball in the gap, it would travel fast. I thought that if the ball is traveling so fast in this outfield, there’s no point in hitting shots in the air, as a few balls are keeping low. I was trying to play straight as much as possible,” he explained.
Batting with the experienced Rahane kept Shaw going. “I love batting with him. He’s such a big player, he has played in so many Tests, so I get to learn a lot from him. Ajju da and I were having good conversations between overs, something which both of us love to do. If I was making any mistakes or playing a loose shot, he would tell me. He was giving me that confidence.
