Young Indian opener Prithvi Shaw was once again at his swashbuckling best in the ongoing Vijay-Hazare Trophy as he smashed his 4th ton in his last seven innings in the all-important semi-final against Karnataka.
Shaw, who had endured a forgettable 2020, where his technique came under the scanner due to his repeated failures in the Indian Premier League and the pink-ball Test in Australia, has hit a real purple patch in the Vijay-Hazare Trophy, a clear indication of the amount of hard work that the youngster would have put in following his axing from the Test team.
Prithvi Shaw brought up his 4th hundred in just 79 balls and went on to convert it into a 150. He was eventually dismissed for a 122-ball 165- an innings glittered with 17 fours and seven sixes.
Shaw’s previous tons include 105* (89) against Delhi, 227 (152) against Puducherry, and 185* (123) in the Quarter-finals against Saurashtra when Mumbai was set a target of 285.
During his knock of 122-ball 165, Prithvi Shaw became the first batsman to rack up in excess of 700 runs this season. He has also broken Mayank Agarwal’s record of scoring the most number of runs in a single Vijay-Hazare Trophy season.
Batting for Karnataka, Mayank Agarwal had smashed 723 runs during the 2018 season. In 7 matches thus far, Prithvi Shaw has racked up 754 runs in seven games at an average of 188.50 and a strike-rate of 134.88 with four tons.
Here’s how Twitter reacted:
Good to see @PrithviShaw scoring runs consistently in domestic cricket. #form
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) March 11, 2021
This is some batting from @PrithviShaw love it when athletes make such comebacks. Sport is always a life lesson.
— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) March 11, 2021
Well done, Prithvi Shaw. Critics will always be around, but letting the bat do all the talking is the simplest way to keep them quiet. Serious form this. 185 in the QF. Century in the Semis against a gun team. Double ton in the league phase. Top stuff
— Shashank Kishore (@captainshanky) March 11, 2021
Myyyy godddd . Take a bow @PrithviShaw and @devdpd07 , these boys are dominating in the Vijay hazare trophy. If ever there was a term "break the door" in terms of selections for team India , THIS IS IT. #Unbelievable #outstanding
— DK (@DineshKarthik) March 11, 2021
4th century for Prithvi Shaw in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2020-21. Ton v Karnataka in the SF. Captain is leading from the front. His previous three tons: 105*(89) v Delhi (chasing 212), 227*(152) v Puducherry (Mumbai scored 457) & 185*(123) v Saurashtra (chasing 285)
— Sarang Bhalerao (@bhaleraosarang) March 11, 2021
Prithvi Shaw becomes the highest run-scorer in a single edition of Vijay Hazare Trophy – 725* runs – beating Mayank Agarwal 723 runs in Vijay Hazare 2018.
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) March 11, 2021
He might not have played again after the first Test in Adelaide, but the Indian team management spent a lot of time working with & on Prithvi Shaw’s batting, his technique & his approach. Seems to be bearing fruit in grand fashion in the #VijayHazareTrophy with another ton pic.twitter.com/I49I7iAmhf
— Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) March 11, 2021
Prithvi Shaw just scored his 4th hundred in the Vijay Hazare tournament semis against Karnataka. 100* in 79 balls. In 7 matches, he's scored 693 runs at an average of 231 & a strike rate of over 130. Devdutt Padikkal & Samarth are just a few runs behind and due to bat soon!
— Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) March 11, 2021
The Strike-rate at which Prithvi Shaw scores these centuries will make sure that he’s on top of the pecking order during the selection. Well played, young man @PrithviShaw #DoddaMathu #VijayHazareTrophy #KARvMUM
— ದೊಡ್ಡ ಗಣೇಶ್ | Dodda Ganesh (@doddaganesha) March 11, 2021
Prithvi Shaw is a madman. Going to end up as a top notch limited overs opener. What mentality. SMASHHH.
— arfan (@Im__Arfan) March 11, 2021
fourth three figure score in his last 7 List A innings for prithvi shaw, he's hit a real purple patch #VijayHazareTrophy
— Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) March 11, 2021
Prithvi Shaw Aa Captain in this Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021:-
•227*(152) vs Puducherry.
•185*(123) vs Saurashtra.
•100*(79) vs Karnataka.This is Crazy. Phenomenal form Prithvi Shaw.
— CricketMAN2 (@man4_cricket) March 11, 2021
Most Runs in single edition of Vijay Hazare Trophy
725 Prithvi Shaw 2021*
723 Mayank Agarwal 2018Prithvi the new record holder now#KARvMUM#VijayHazareTrophy
— Vidhu Pal (@vidhu_pal) March 11, 2021
Prithvi Shaw in this Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021:-
105*(89).
34(38).
227*(152).
36(30).
2(5).
185*(123) in QF.
50*(48) in SF.Shaw's dream form is Continues. He Just too good in this Vijay Hazare Trophy
— CricketMAN2 (@man4_cricket) March 11, 2021
#VijayHazareTrophy2021
Prithvi Shaw becomes leading run-scorer of Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021 @PrithviShaw pic.twitter.com/IvOIg3yugo— Ayush Jain (@AYUSH_JAIN__) March 11, 2021
Well done, Prithvi Shaw. Critics will always be around, but letting the bat do all the talking is the simplest way to keep them quiet. Serious form this. 185 in the QF. Century in the Semis against a gun team. Double ton in the league phase. Top stuff
— Shashank Kishore (@captainshanky) March 11, 2021
3rd 150+ score for Prithvi Shaw in this edition of Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Should be looked upon for post 23 WC squad. pic.twitter.com/207szxDyxh— ॐ (@theshivansh_p) March 11, 2021