Dubai-based junior Ronak Panoly smashes unbeaten 256 in T20 match

Denzil Pinto 21:08 13/05/2017
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  • It’s not every day you see someone score a double century in T20 cricket, especially at the junior level, but that was certainly the case in Sharjah as Ronak Panoly left everyone in awe following his historic unbeaten 256-run knock.

    The 14-year-old, representing GEMS Modern Academy, was in a world of own in the Under-14 MGS Vision Cup match as he put The Millennium School (TMS), Dubai,  to the sword.

    Panoly, whose quick-fire half-century helped GEMS to the 2016 National School League (NSL) final, let his bat do the talking once again by smashing an astonishing 30 sixes and 14 boundaries off just 72 deliveries.

    GEMS eventually made 352-2, the tournament’s highest total before they wrapped up a 249-run victory. Unsurprisingly, Panoly was named Man of the Match and the opener said it was surreal to write himself into the tournament’s history books with their highest individual score.

    “It’s a great feeling to score a 250, especially in T20 especially as I’ve not been scoring big recently,” he said. “Scoring a 200 in a 50-over is difficult but to do it in a T20 match is an unbelievable feeling.

    “It is a real honour to write history in this tournament which I really enjoy playing.”

    While it’s the highest individual score in the tournament, it’s unclear if it’s the record in junior cricket in the UAE or even a potential world record since tallies of domestic games  in this country are not recorded.

    Nevertheless, Panoly’s father, Sudesh, was thrilled with his son’s achievement after being called by GEMS coach Shafiq Ahmed.

    “When I first heard the news, I thought it was the team score but then he said it was Ronak’s individual score and I thought he was joking,” said Panoly senior.

    “He said it again and then it sunk in that Ronak reached the big milestone. I want to thank all the coaches who have helped him.”

    One of his early coaches, Sudhakar Shetty of MGS, added: “Ronak’s innings was simply an epic one and beyond comparison. I strongly believe there’s  more to come from him in the future.”

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