JOIN USHistory was made at the Union Cricket Club grounds in Kalyan near Mumbai on Tuesday when 15-year-old Pranav Dhanawade scored a mammoth unbeaten 1,009 runs in just 323 balls at an inter-school cricket tournament.
The son of an auto-rickshaw driver, Pranav smashed 129 fours and 59 sixes, scoring a whopping 870 runs from boundaries. Coming in to bat at an overnight score of 652 (199 balls, 72x4, 28x6), Pranav surpassed the 1,000-run mark after which his team, Smt K C Gandhi School, declared the innings at 1,465.
The opponents, Arya Gurukul School, were bundled out for 31 in the first innings and 72 in the second, handing Pranav’s team an innings and 1,362-run victory. Both schools are from Kalyan and were competing at the H T Bhandari tournament, a knockout-cum-league format organised by the Mumbai Cricket Association since 1981 to spot budding talent. “I am happy, very very happy,” was Pranav’s first reaction. “When I started, I wanted to play well...bat well...on Monday evening after scoring 652 runs, I set the target of 1,000 runs and played my usual game,” said the budding cricketer, who is also a wicket-keeper, adding that he aims to play good cricket.
When Pranav came in to bat on Tuesday morning, he had already surpassed Arthur Collins’ 1899 record of 628 n.o, 566 by C J Eady in 1901-02 and the highest score by an Indian in school cricket, Prithvi Shaw’s 546 in the 2013-14 Harris Shield. Sarfaraz Khan and Arman Jaffer, both part of India’s current U-19 squad, made 439 in 2009 and 498 in 2010, respectively.
Pranav’s father Prashant Dhanawade and his mother Mohini, a homemaker and small-time caterer, said their dream is to see their son transform into a good cricketer and a good human being.
“My father played cricket, I also played cricket, but could not continue for various reasons...I am happy to see my son fulfil our dreams,” said Prashant. “We are happy...He has worked hard...We have lived this dream,” said an emotional Mohini.
The Dhanawade family and friends were touched when the legendary Sachin Tendulkar tweeted to congratulate Pranav. “Congrats #PranavDhanawade on being the first ever to score 1,000 runs in an innings. Well done and work hard. You need to scale new peaks!” the batting maestro tweeted.
“It is a matter of pride for Pranav, it is a matter of pride for our school...he is naturally attacking type, he hits and at times he has to be told to be careful...I ask him not just to think about under-19, but think and aim big,” said Harish Sharma, Pranav’s coach.