Porvorim (Goa): Goa’s Snehal Kauthankar and Kashyap Bakle stitched up the highest partnership of unbeaten 606 in Ranji Trophy’s history on day two of their Plate Group match against Arunachal Pradesh here on Thursday.
Kauthankar’s quicksilver 314 off 215 balls and Bakle’s steady 300 off 269 balls powered Goa to a colossal 727/2 in just 93 overs, giving them a 643-run first-innings lead over Arunachal.
Kauthankar, 29, led the charge, reaching his maiden triple hundred in a mere 205 deliveries, his innings studded with 43 boundaries and four towering sixes.
Known for his aggressive stroke play, Kauthankar shattered his previous best of 250, scored just last week against Mizoram, as he carved through Arunachal’s attack. By lunch, he was unbeaten on 305, with Bakle, who provided ideal support, poised on 280 not out.
This match also marked only the second time in Ranji history that two batters have scored triple hundreds in the same innings, the first being Tamil Nadu’s WV Raman and Arjun Kripal Singh in 1989 against Goa. Goa’s total of 727/2 now stands as the second-highest in the Ranji Trophy Plate division, only behind Meghalaya’s mammoth 826 against Sikkim in 2018, and ranks as the ninth-highest across the entire Ranji Trophy competition.
The duo also stitched the highest Ranji Trophy partnership of 606 not out.
This blitzkrieg from Kauthankar now places him third in the all-time list of fastest First-Class triple hundreds by Indians, with only Hyderabad’s Tanmay Agarwal and South Africa’s Marco Marais achieving the milestone more quickly.
Agarwal set the record for the fastest First-Class triple century last year, reaching the landmark in just 147 balls, a knock which eclipsed the previous 39-year record held by Indian legend Ravi Shastri.
Kauthankar’s stunning innings also included a 200-run milestone in just 146 balls, making it the fourth-fastest double-century in Ranji Trophy history.
After the break, Kashyap Bakle followed suit, bringing up his triple hundred from 269 deliveries, an innings laced with 39 fours and two sixes. It was the third-fastest triple ton by an Indian in First-Class cricket.
Together, the two entered the elite category as they became only the second pair in First-Class cricket to record a 600-plus run stand, their unbroken 606-run partnership in just 448 balls placing them behind only Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, who shared a 624-run stand in a Test against South Africa in 2006.
The historic innings gave Goa a 643-run lead, securing a dominant position in the match.
–IANS
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