Rohera creates world record on Ranji debut
INDORE: Madhya Pradesh batsman Ajay Rohera etched his name in the record books on Saturday by scoring the highest first-class score on debut, an unbeaten 267 against Hyderabad in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B game victory here.
Rohera, 21, erased the record held by former Mumbai stalwart Amol Muzumdar, who hit 260 versus Haryana at Faridabad in 1994.
Muzumdar congratulated Rohera on twitter.
Rohera’s 345-ball knock (21x4, 5x6) helped Madhya Pradesh declare their first innings at 562/4, after skittling out Hyderabad for 124. MP bowlers then took over, giving Rohera a winning gift by bundling out Hyder- abad for 185 in their second essay to complete an emphatic innings and 253-run victory.
Rohera, a wicketkeeper-batsman who was adjudged Man-ofthe-match, was elated. “It’s a great feeling for me as a debutant. It is a memorable innings for my association (team). I’ll try and continue to bat (the same way),” he said over phone.
He also became the highest individual scorer for Madhya Pradesh, surpassing JP Yadav’s 265.
Hailing from Dewas near Indore, Rohera had impressed for the MP U-23 side. He scored two centuries last season and another this season. An aggressive middle-order batsman, Rohera was asked to open on his Ranji debut and cashed in with a superb knock.
However, Rohera had made an uneventful List A debut in AVG 100 53.2
India now have an overall lead of 166 runs. Only four times have a team successfully chased a target of 200 or more in an Adelaide Test. September. It was also against Hyderabad in
Vijay Hazare Trophy. He scored 19 batting at No 6 in the seven-wicket loss.
The second -- he has played only two List A ties -- was against Chhattisgarh. The wicketkeeper batted at No 7, and was dismissed for one as Madhya Pradesh were handed a 122run defeat.
Ajay Rohera (Madhya Pradesh) against Hyderabad in Indore, 2018-19 Amol Muzumdar (Mumbai) against Haryana in Faridabad, 1993-94 Baheer Shah (Speen Ghar Region) against Amo Region in Amanullah, 2017-18 Eric Marx (Transvaal) against Griqualand in Johannesberg, 1920-21