Gujarat opener Samit Gohel broke a host of first-class records during the course of his big score in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Odisha in Jaipur
Bharath Seervi27-Dec-2016357* The previous highest score by an opener who carried his bat in first-class history. Bobby Abel achieved this for Surrey against Somerset in 1899. Gujarat’s Samit Gohel carried his bat during the 359 not out against Odisha to set a new record in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final in Jaipur. WG Grace (318* in 1876) and Bill Ashdown (305* in 1935) are the only others triple-centurions to carry their bat. The highest by an Indian who carried his bat prior to Tuesday was Dheeraj Jadhav, who made an unbeaten 260 for India A against Kenya in 2004.1 Number of scores higher than Gohel’s 359 in the second innings of a first-class match. Don Bradman scored 452 for New South Wales against Queensland in 1929-30. This was the third triple-century in the team’s second innings in the Ranji Trophy, after Vijay Hazare’s 309 (while following on) in 1943-44 and Cheteshwar Pujara’s 352 in 2012-13.3 Number of bigger scores than Samit Gohel’s unbeaten 359 in the Ranji Trophy. BB Nimbalkar’s 443 not out in 1948-49, Sanjay Manjrekar’s 377 in 1990-91 and MV Sridhar’s 366 in 1993-94 top the list. Gohel equalled Vijay Merchant’s score, made in 1943-44. Gohel’s score is the second-highest in a Ranji Trophy knockout match, behind Manjrekar’s 377 in the 1990-91 semi-final.
Batsman Runs Team Against SeasonBB Nimbalkar 443* Maharashtra Kathiawar 1948-49Sanjay Manjrekar 377 Bombay Hyderabad 1990-91MV Sridhar 366 Hyderabad Andhra 1993-94Vijay Merchant 359* Bombay Maharashtra 1943-44Samit Gohel 359* Gujarat Odisha 2016-17VVS Laxman 353 Hyderabad Karnataka 1999-00Cheteshwar Pujara 352 Saurashtra Karnataka 2012-13Swapnil Gugale 351* Maharashtra Delhi 2016-17723 Balls faced by Gohel – the sixth-highest in first-class matches (where number of balls have been recorded) and third-highest in Ranji Trophy history. Punjab’s Bhupinder Singh faced 738 balls in his innings of 297 in 1994-95 and Himachal Pradesh’s Rajeev Nayyar scored 271 off 728 in 1999-00.964 Minutes Gohel spent at the crease during his mammoth knock, the third-longest in first-class history. The longest, and the only player to bat over 1000 minutes, is Rajeev Nayyar in his innings of 271 against Jammu & Kashmir in 1999-00.
Batsman Runs Minutes Team Against SeasonRajeev Nayyar 271 1015 Himachal Pradesh Jammu & Kashmir 1999-00Hanif Mohammad 337 970 Pakistan West Indies 1957-58Samit Gohel 359* 964 Gujarat Odisha 2016-17Vineet Saxena 257 907 Rajasthan Tamil Nadu 2011-12Gary Kirsten 275 878 South Africa England 1999-00641 Gujarat’s highest-ever total in Ranji history. They went past the 640 they made against Maharashtra in 1995-96. This was their second 600-plus total of the season, after their 624 for 6 against Punjab, in which Priyank Panchal scored 314 not out. Before this season, they had scored 600 or more only thrice. Prior to this season, no Gujarat batsman had made a triple-ton – there have been two such instances in this season.
