Triple centurion Prashant Chopra compared to Virender Sehwag
What's the story?
25-year-old Prashant Chopra, who recently made headlines after a jaw-dropping triple century for Himachal Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy was compared to former Indian opener Virender Sehwag.
Vikram Rathour, the coach of the side hailed Chopra's knock as one of the best he had ever seen and compared him to the dashing Indian opener.
"I've seen some of Sehwag's brilliant knocks in domestic and international cricket and this knock really reminded me of him. I have been around for more than 25 years now but never been in a game where 460 runs (459 for 2) were scored on the first day in a Ranji Trophy game. This was an outstanding innings that he played and against a good attack. All the three guys (Manpreet Gony, Sandeep Sharma and Barinder Sran) have played for India. Some of the shots he played actually reminded me of Viru," said Rathour to Cricbuzz.
In case you didn't know...
India's most prestigious tournament began on October 6 with all the states beginning their campaign in the first round of the tournament.
Prashant Chopra created history on the very first day by scoring 271 on the first day - only the second Indian batsman to do that in first-class cricket and the first to do so in 67 years.
On the 2nd day, he continued from where he left off and scored a triple century.
The details:
Chopra was on the attack from the word go and took on the amorphous Punjab bowling attack. His 338 run knock came in 363 deliveries with 44 fours and two sixes to his name.
When asked about the comparison with Sehwag, he said that it was a "confidence booster"
Chopra credited Rathour for his success. He stated that he wanted him to carry on batting and not do anything silly.
Chopra who is quite used to hitting the ball out of the ground controlled himself during his aggressive knock and kept most of his shots along the ground.
What's next?
Himachal Pradesh will look to restrict Punjab and gain a first-innings lead at the end of the third day's play.
Author's take:
Chopra's knock will not be forgotten for a long time. He has performed well in the previous seasons as well but never did anything to get the selectors notice.
With this knock, he has surely got a lot of heads turning and taking note. He will look to continue his fine run of form and go on to become the highest run-getter this season.