NEW DELHI The move from Mumbai to Maharashtra has paid immediate dividends for Prithvi Shaw, who produced a sensational double hundred in only his second outing for his new team. Playing against Chandigarh in the second round of the Ranji Trophy, Shaw blazed to a 156-ball 222, recording the second-fastest double century ever in the tournament’s Elite Group.Shaw reached the milestone in just 141 balls, surpassing Rahul Singh’s 2023/24 record, and now trails only Ravi Shastri’s iconic 123-ball double hundred from the 1984/85 season. The 25-year-old struck 29 boundaries and five sixes, maintaining a strike rate of 142.31, and also brought up his hundred in just 73 balls — the sixth-fastest in Ranji history.After parting ways with the Mumbai Cricket Association following a controversy-filled season, Shaw switched allegiance to Maharashtra, where he started with a century in a warm-up match. His Ranji Trophy campaign began quietly, with a duck in the first innings against Kerala, but his blistering knock against Chandigarh has turned heads once again.The innings not only marks a personal comeback but also places Shaw among Indian cricket’s elite. He now holds the record for the fastest double century in Ranji Trophy’s elite division in the 21st century, surpassing his own previous record of 174 balls (against Baroda in 2019/20). Only Shastri’s whirlwind effort remains faster in the 91-year history of the competition.Shaw is now the only batsman besides Shastri to feature twice among the four fastest double centuries in the Ranji Trophy’s elite group. Including the plate division, Hyderabad’s Tanmay Agarwal holds the overall mark for the third-fastest double hundred in first-class cricket.The Maharashtra opener also joins Virender Sehwag as the second Indian to score multiple double hundreds in fewer than 200 balls in first-class cricket — a rare club shared by only eight players. worldwide. Other notable Indians to have achieved rapid double hundreds include Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Sachin Tendulkar, and Shreyas Iyer.Shaw’s 222 off 156 balls now stands as a reminder of his prodigious talent and potential resurgence. For a player once earmarked as India’s next big thing, this innings could well mark the start of a long-awaited comeback.
Records Prithvi Shaw broke with his 222 (156)
- Second-fastest double century in Ranji Trophy Elite Group history
- – Reached his double hundred in 141 balls, only behind Ravi Shastri’s 123-ball double ton (1984/85)
- Fastest double century in the 21st century in Ranji Trophy (Elite Group)
- – Surpassed his own previous record of 174 balls set against Baroda in the 2019/20 season.
- Sixth-fastest century in Ranji Trophy history
- – Reached his hundred in just 73 balls during the innings.
- Second Indian to score multiple double hundreds in fewer than 200 balls in first-class cricket
- – Joins Virender Sehwag in this elite club.
- Only player besides Ravi Shastri to feature twice among the four fastest double centuries in Ranji Trophy’s Elite Group.
- First player to score a double century for Maharashtra in the 2025–26 Ranji Trophy season.
- Among only eight players in the world to have multiple double hundreds in fewer than 200 balls
- – Joining legends like Sehwag and Graeme Hick
- One of the few Indian players to hit double centuries at a strike rate above 140 in first-class cricket.
