Samit Gohel of Gujarat recorded the highest score by an opening batsman in the history of first-class cricket during his knock of 359 not out against Odisha at Jaipur on Tuesday.
Gohel broke a record which was set in 1899 by Surrey batsman Bobby Abel, who scored 357 unbeaten runs as ten wickets fell at the other end during a match against Somerset at The Oval in London.
Gujarat beat Odisha to qualify for the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy virtue of a first-innings lead. They scored 263 in the first innings, before bowling out Odisha for 199.
Aided by Gohel’s epic knock, Gujarat went on to score 641 in their second innings – something that faced a lot of criticism as they did not push for an outright win despite being in such an advantageous position.
During his unbeaten 359, Gohel slammed 45 fours and one six. The knock is the joint-fifth highest individual score in an innings in the history of first-class cricket in India.
Gujarat joined Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand and Mumbai in the last four of India’s most prestigious domestic tournament.
Highest scores 'Carrying the Bat' in FCC:
— Deepu Narayana (@deeputalks) December 27, 2016
359 SAMIT GOHEL, 2016 *
357 Bobby Abel, 1899
318 WG Grace, 1876
305 WH Ashdown, 1935#RanjiTrophy
