Prakhar Chaturvedi wasn’t picked for the squad that will be defending India’s under-19 world title in South Africa later this month. But the Karnataka teen has ensured selectors will be keeping a keen eye on him from here on. Playing a marathon knock that took 885 minutes, the right-hander compiled an unbeaten 404 to become the highest individual scorer in the final of the Cooch Behar Trophy.
In the process, Prakhar bettered Yuvraj Singh’s 24-year-old mark of 358. That innings of Yuvraj was watched from behind the stumps by a young wicketkeeper named MS Dhoni! The Cooch Behar Trophy has unearthed many legends. Indian cricket fans will be hoping Prakhar too will join their ranks.
Even as his innings helped Karnataka win their maiden Cooch Behar Trophy at the KSCA Navule stadium in Shivamogga on Monday, Prakhar Chaturvedi’s celebrations were rather muted. On reaching 300, he raised his bat and kneeled. When he surpassed the 400-run mark, the jubilation was limited to raising the bat and looking towards the sky. The youngster, who is five days shy of his 19th birthday, is not too keen on loud celebrations. He is a firm believer in letting his performance speak for him. On Monday, it blared volumes.
Apart from making him the highest scorer in a Cooch Behar Trophy final, Prakhar’s 404 not out is also the second highest ever in the tournament, behind only Maharashtra’s Vijay Zol’s unbeaten 451 against Assam in 2011-12.
Prakhar’s slammed 46 fours and three sixers as Karnataka responded to Mumbai’s first-innings tally of 380 by posting a gargantuan 890/8 declared to win the final on the basis of their first innings lead. An all-format player, Prakhar is known for his powerful hitting, but this innings was marked by patience, application and skill.
On a surface that got better for batting after the first day, Prakhar did not put a foot wrong. He was unhurried throughout his stay at the crease. On the final day, he went to lunch at 299.
Resuming his innings, he calmly played out 19 dot balls before reaching the 300-run mark, off a single. While the 300 came off 543 deliveries, the next 104 were scored briskly in 95 balls.
Speaking to TOI after his landmark feat, Prakhar said, “The records feel special and I’m glad the runs came when it mattered. My coaches told me to bat on and not get out and I’m glad I could do it.
In the end, what counts is the fact that we won the trophy.”
On pacing his innings, Prakhar, who opted to do his Class 12 through open schooling to concentrate on cricket, pointed out, “Red-ball cricket for me is all about patience. I know I can hit the ball long and hard, but in the longer format, it is important to keep the ball on the ground. I took my time to assess the conditions and then played my shots.”
Former Karnataka captain, K Jeshwanth, his coach at Bengaluru’s Six Cricket Academy -which is part of the Padukone-Dravid Centre of Excellence -said, “I’m not surprised by his achievement because he is blessed with good technique and backs it with unconditional hard work. He is a good student of the game and can adapt to different formats with ease. A powerful hitter, he is like a blackboard on which you can write anything.” Prakhar travels 100km daily to train at the academy.
Asked if he was aware of Yuvraj’s record, the Jabalpur-born Prakhar, who moved to Karnataka as a two-year-old, revealed, “At lunch, my teammates told me I was inching closer to the record, but I didn’t allow it to register in my head because I wanted to play without pressure. There were times during the innings when I was tired, but I just kept pushing myself.”
His stunning show in the final also helped Prakhar to finish the tournament as the highest run-getter with 795 runs at an average of 79.5, which included two centuries and a fifty.