A double century by a batsman in any form of cricket and in any age group is a special moment. The feat assumes more significance if it is achieved by a teenager.
Seventeen-year-old Kirdant Karan Shinde from Kurnool delighted the sparse crowd at IGMC Stadium in Vijayawada on Tuesday when he slammed 249 for North Zone against ACA in the inter-zonal under-19 selection match.
Karan, who was unbeaten at 166 on Monday, continued his brilliant display of strokes by notching up 200 and was dismissed four minutes before lunch for 249.
Marathon innings
“I went for a drive and the ball took the inside edge and I was bowled by a spinner. It was a sheer lapse of concentration,” said the young batting sensation.
Karan took 440 minutes and cracked 28 boundaries and one six in his 408-ball marathon innings.
Double ton
Scoring double hundreds is not new for Karan as he cracked 216 against Karnataka in the under-16 fixture, thus helping Andhra emerge as the South Zone champions. “I also scored a double ton while playing a practice match at Kurnool,” the graceful southpaw said.
A product of Andhra Cricket Association’s junior cricket programme, Karan is presently trained at the ACA South Zone Residential Academy at Kadapa, under the tutelage of head coach Thompson.
Useful interaction
He felt that his interaction with his coach and senior cricketers helped him master the intricacies of batting.
Future quartet
“Karan (Shinde) along with Ashwin (Hebbar), Ricky Bhui, and Syam Sundar form the future quartet of Andhra batting. Much will depend on how they shape themselves into quality batsmen for bigger challenges such as Ranji and Duleep tournaments,” said ACA director and former Test cricketer M.S.K. Prasad, after watching the marathon innings of the Kurnool lad.
Consistent
Karan showed his consistency in the last year’s inter-State under-19 one-day tournament by scoring three fifties and earned his place in the South Zone team for the inter-zonal fixtures.
‘Highly talented’
“He was also in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) under-19 national camp at Chennai, and he is blessed with loads of patience and strokes. “He is a highly talented player and has the mettle to play big cricket,” said Nirmal Kumar, ACA coach.
