cricket

Updated: Jan 05, 2016 21:29 IST

Mumbai teenager Pranav Dhanawade on Tuesday scripted history by becoming the first cricketer ever to notch up a four-figure score by smashing an unbeaten knock of 1,009 in an inter-school tournament.

The 15-year-old’s knock included 129 fours and 59 sixes during the match at the Union Cricket Academy ground in Kalyan. The effort helped his school declare on 1465/3, which is also a record for the highest ever team score.

Scorecard of the match that Dhanawade scored 1009* in. (Photo courtesy: Sarang Bhalerao/Twitter)

Dhanawade grabbed attention on Monday when he scored 652 runs, breaking the 117-year-old record for the most runs scored in an innings held by AEJ Collins, who smashed an unbeaten 628 in a club match in England in 1899.

Dhanawade’s school went past the previous international record of Victoria’s 1,107 against New South Wales made in 1926.

Read: Mumbai cricketer scores 652 to break 117-year-old school record

Pranav Dhanawade.... Runs - 1009* Balls - 323 Mins - 395 S/R - 312.38 Sixes - 59 Fours - 129 His school KC Gandhi HS declared @ 1465 — Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) January 5, 2016

Son of an autorickshaw driver, Dhanawade has been playing cricket since he was aged five. He has been coached by Mobin Sheikh. A wicket-keeper batsman, he has dreams of becoming a cricketer like Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

“I have always been a big-hitter,” said Dhanawade. “When I started I never thought about breaking the record. The focus was never that. I just played my natural game, which is to attack from the word go.”

His father Prashant was working but soon rushed to the ground when he heard of his son’s score. “I started getting frantic calls from other parents. I reached there as he was just reaching the milestone of 300. I was nervous throughout, but was just happy to see my son batting,” Dhanawade said.

While his father watched, Dhanawade piled on the runs. “After reaching 300, my coach Harish Sharma told me to play on. I did not know of the world record, but we had the Indian record in mind,” said Dhanawade, talking about the 546-run mark set by Mumbai’s Prithvi Shaw at Azad Maidan in 2013.

“My previous top-score was 152,” said the chirpy Dhanawade, who is also preparing for his Class 10 board exams. Before his blitzkrieg, Dhanawade’s previous highest total in the Bhandari Trophy was an unbeaten 80.

According to his school coach Harish Sharma, Dhanawade has always been a hard-hitter but tends to throw his wicket away.

“He would make 40-50 runs and then perish. It was a major flaw in his thinking. Today, he just swept all of it aside and made us sit up and take note,” said the coach.

Knowing that money has been an issue for the Dhanawades, coach Sheikh too has done his bit for the 15-year-old.

“Money has always been an issue, but we have never brought any hurdles to his game,” Dhanawade’s father said. “Mobin sir does not take money for his coaching. That has helped. I and my father too were cricketers so we wanted him to play cricket. I saved up some money and bought him a kit, it’s not much but sponsors have been few and far between, but we have managed.”

Dhanawade has come close to getting selected for age-group tournaments for Mumbai, but has missed out on all occasions. Following the knock, Dhanawade has set his sights on playing for the Mumbai under-19 side.

“I have missed out on chances to play in the under-14 and under-16 sides. My aim is to break into the under-19 side and then the Ranji team,” said Dhanawade.

Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar took to Twitter on Tuesday morning to congratulate Dhanawade for his record-breaking innings.

“Congrats #PranavDhanawade on being the first ever to score 1000 runs in an innings. Well done and work hard. You need to scale new peaks!,” Tendulkar posted on his Twitter handle.

Congrats #PranavDhanawade on being the first ever to score 1000 runs in an innings. Well done and work hard. You need to scale new peaks! — sachin tendulkar (@sachin_rt) January 5, 2016

Read |Twitter reacts to the first ever score of 1,000 runs in a single innings