Out of favor India's opener Prithvi Shaw faced Chandigarh on Monday at the Cricket Stadium, Sector-16 in Chandigarh, he produced a spectacular comeback to form, turning his first century for Maharashtra into the second-fastest Ranji Trophy Elite double century.
Shaw batted with his trademark flair in the second innings after scoring only eight runs in the first. On Day 3 morning, Shaw smashed his first century of the domestic season in only 72 balls, thanks to 13 fours, becoming the sixth-fastest century in Ranji Trophy history.
Shaw then accelerated his pace, scoring 80 runs in the next 54 balls and reaching Lunch at 180 off just 126 deliveries. The speedy right-hander then cantered to his double century in 140 deliveries, making it the second-fastest Ranji Trophy double century at the Elite or Zonal level in history, trailing only Ravi Shastri's 123-ball double century for Bombay versus Baroda in the 1984-85 season.
Hyderabad opener Tanmay Agarwal scored the fastest First-Class double century by an Indian in the Ranji Trophy Plate event in January 2024, taking 119 deliveries.
Shaw is now only the second Indian, after Virender Sehwag to score repeated First-Class double centuries in 200 deliveries, with the latter doing the feat three times in Test matches for India.
Here are the top 5 fastest First-Class double centuries by Indians:
1. 119 balls- Tanmay Agarwal, Hyderabad v Arunachal Pradesh (Plate Group), 2023/24
2. 123 balls- Ravi Shastri, Bombay v Baroda, 1984/85
3. 141 balls- Prithvi Shaw, Maharashtra v Chandigarh (Elite Group), 2025/26
4. 143 balls- G Rahul Singh, Hyderabad v Nagaland, 2023/24
5. 146- balls- Snehal Suhas Kauthankar, Goa v Arunachal Pradesh, 2024/25
Shaw hadn’t started his Maharashtra tenure in the Ranji Trophy on a good note, getting out for a duck in his first innings against Kerala. He rebounded with a half-century to give Maharashtra the innings lead. Shaw's century breaks a 20-month drought, having previously achieved a century for Mumbai in February 2024.
Shaw is hoping to restart his career in top-level cricket after a disastrous season last year, when he was sacked by Mumbai due to fitness and discipline difficulties.
