Yuvraj Singh’s golden reaction speaks volumes about his class.
Prakhar Chaturvedi has become the talk of the town. The Karnataka batter, all of 17 years of age, has etched his name in the record books following a marathon innings of 404 in the final of the Cooch Behar tournament against Mumbai. Prakhar’s knock is the first quadruple century in the history of the tournament final, and overall, the second-highest individual score in the history of the tournament behind Vijay Zol’s 451 during the 2011-12 season.
But the one number that has become synonymous with Prakhar despite not belonging to him is 358 – the record which was previously held by Yuvraj Singh – before being surpassed by the youngster. Yuvraj’s 358 against Bihar in the 1999 final – a knock that was very-well documented in MS Dhoni’s biopic – stood tall for 24 years before it was toppled by Prakhar on Monday.
Reacting to the development, Yuvraj was all class in his appreciation post for young Chaturvedi and sounded thrilled knowing that Indian cricket is in good hands. “Very happy to see this! Records are meant to be broken and I’m glad to see the future of Indian cricket in safe hands,” he posted on X.
Prakhar’s 404 paved the way for Karnataka’s win. After Mumbai put on 380, riding on Prakhar’s magnum opus of a knock, Karnataka replied with a gobsmacking 890/8, and in the process, playing out 223 overs to win the match on a first-innings lead. Years ago, led by Yuvraj, had achieved the same feat after piling 839 in response to Bihar’s 357, where Dhoni had hit 84 off 151 deliveries. Yuvraj had blasted 40 fours and six sixes.
Prakhar’s marathon knock
Almost a quarter of a century later, at the KSCA Navule Stadium, Prakhar himself clobbered 46 fours and three sixes en route to creating history and even though his teammate Harshil Dharmani, a top-order batter contributed with a stunning 169, everything was reduced to an afterthought and paled in comparison to Prakhar’s unbeaten quadruple ton. The youngster’s effort was also lauded by BCCI secretary Jay Shah, who said the innings has set a new benchmark.