Gujarat’s 26-year-old opener Samit Gohel on December 27 broke the 117-year-old world record during the ongoing Ranji Trophy tournament in Jaipur.
Samit has now become the highest scorer for an opening batsman in first-class cricket while carrying his bat through the innings (opener who plays till the end of the innings without getting out).
Gujrat’s Samit Gohel. Sports Star Live
He notched up 359* runs during Gujarat’s Ranji Trophy quarter-final match against Odisha.
Samit, by doing so has now eclipsed the previous best score of 357* by Surrey’s Bobby Abel who had set this record back in 1899 against Somerset.
Surrey’s Bobby Abel. Oval World
For his knock of 359 runs, Samit faced 723-balls and hit 45 boundaries and a single six.
Soon after the day’s play was over, Samit revealed that he was not even aware of setting a new world record while batting.
“I did not know it was a World Record. The idea was to bat as long as possible.”
He also added that while his father is a business man, he is happy to call himself a “professional cricketer” and is hoping to secure a government job for himself.
Advertisement“My father has a small-time property business, But yes, I am searching for a government job. I have applied for sports quota job in Income Tax department as well as Dena Bank. Let’s see what happens.”
With this feat, Samit is now the first triple centurion opener to carry his bat through in the last 81 years in any form of first-class cricket.
But it must be noted, that despite the fact he is still not the highest scorer as an opener.
The record for highest scorer as opener remains with Pakistan’s Hanif Mohammed who scored an epic 499 runs as a first-class cricket opener.
Pakistan’s Hanif Mohammed. Pakistan 360 Degrees
