Mhatre breaks Jaiswal’s world record

Ahmedabad: Mumbai’s Ayush Mhatre on Tuesday set a new world record for the youngest player to score 150+ in List A cricket during the Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Nagaland here, bettering compatriot Yashasvi Jaiswal’s effort.

At 17 years and 168 days, Mhatre broke the previous record set by India batter Jaiswal according to MCA, who was 17 years and 291 days when he achieved the feat while playing for Mumbai against against Jharkhand in 2019.

Mhatre, who made his debut for domestic giants Mumbai earlier this season, clobbered 11 sixes and 15 fours to make 181 off only 117 balls while powering his side to an imposing 403 for seven in 50 overs.

Mhatre, who hails from the Virar suburb in Mumbai, has been a regular for the domestic heavyweights across formats ever since he broke into the squad earlier this season.

“I was not aware of the world record. I didn’t know that I am the youngest to score 150 because I was just batting,” Mhatre told PTI. He was a part of the Irani Cup-winning Mumbai side which defeated Rest of India to win the trophy after a gap of 27 years in October.

On his Ranji Trophy debut, Mhatre scored a fine 71-ball 52 but Mumbai lost the season opener to Baroda in an away game.

“My coach always tells me that a hundred or a double hundred is in God’s hands. But a good score, say a 50 plus score, is always in your hands,” he said.

The teenager, who has shared his fledgling days in cricket with India seniors such as Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur, Suryakumar Yadav and Prithvi Shaw has also received some valuable lessons from them.

“I have learnt about confidence. I have learnt about keeping the belief in yourself, not worrying about the past, as in how many innings you have failed and how much you have scored, that is all past. You have to be confident in every innings. I have learnt all this from these players,” he said.

With the defending champions looking to bounce back after the loss in the first Ranji game, Mhatre led the charge with a brilliant 176 off 232 balls, which was studded with 22 fours and four sixes against Maharashtra.

Mumbai won the game by nine wickets. He had a couple of quiet outings against Tripura and Odisha but slammed his second first-class ton -- 116 off 149 balls with 12 fours and three sixes -- against Services and went on to represent India in the U-19 Asia Cup.

Mhatre said he wants to be known as an aggressive batter. “I am an aggressive batsman but I set small targets for myself. I first set 30 runs to get, then 50, and after crossing fifty I can play some shots, I can take some risk also.”

The right-handed batter carried his form by scoring fifties (54 and 67 not out) against Japan and UAE, but fell for a single digit score in the tournament’s final which India lost to Bangladesh. Having missed Mumbai’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title triumph, Mhatre returned to the premier domestic 50-overs competition with a 78 in a high-scoring contest against Karnataka.