Karnataka batsman Mayank Agarwal has achieved a rare feat in first-class cricket. The 26-year old registered over 1000 runs in the ongoing season of Ranji Trophy in the month of November alone.
Agarwal’s 1000 runs have come from five hundreds, which include one triple century -- 304 not out against Maharashtra in Pune.
In Karanataka’s recently concluded clash against Railways, Agarwal notched up 173 and 134 in each innings respectively, thus condemning the home side to a 209-run defeat. The two centuries took his run tally in November to 1,033 -- now a record in the Ranji Trophy.
Despite his slow start to the campaign that saw him get only 31 against Assam in the first encounter, followed by bagging a pair against Hyderabad in Shivamogga, he has gone on to post 304, 176, 23, 90, 133 not out, 173, 134 since.
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While the statistics for highest number of runs in a month could not be traced, Australian batsman Bill Ponsford’s 1,146 runs from five innings in December, 1927 is the only comparable case according to International Business Times.
{{/usCountry}}While the statistics for highest number of runs in a month could not be traced, Australian batsman Bill Ponsford’s 1,146 runs from five innings in December, 1927 is the only comparable case according to International Business Times.
{{/usCountry}}Ponsford scored 133, 437, 202, 38 and 336 to setup the only known record for more than a 1000 runs in a month outside of England.
On the other hand, Agarwal, who last turned out for Rising Pune Supergiant in the Indian Premier League is just 382 runs away from breaking the legendary VVS Laxman’s record for most runs in a Ranji season. And with Karnataka having made it to the quarterfinals, Agarwal could be on his way to making his mark in the tournament’s history.