Records galore for Gujarat in Ranji Trophy 2016-17; Samit Gohel joins the club

Records galore for Gujarat in Ranji Trophy 2016-17; Samit Gohel joins the club

Gujarat batsmen have been busy making changes in the record books. A day before, Priyank Panchal became only the sixth highest run-scorer in a season, going past Ajinkya Rahane. And today, Samit Gohel added a remarkable achievement to his CV, registering third highest individual score for Gujarat on Day Four of the quarter-final against Odisha at Jaipur’s Sawai Mansingh Stadium. Gohel remained unbeaten on 261 off 555, giving Gujarat a mammoth lead of 578. If Gohel manages to keep his wicket intact, he will become only the third Gujarat batsman to carry his bat, after Jaswant Bakrania and Akash Christian.

Samit Gohel’s 261* against Odisha puts Gujarat on cusp of semi-final berth

Gohel made his First-Class debut against Railways in 2012, scoring 1 and 53. Gohel has played 27 matches, scoring 1,673 inclusive of 3 hundreds and 10 half-centuries. If Gohel continues the stunning show, he might as well break more records. Gohel is 39 runs away from becoming only the second triple-centurion for Gujarat — the first being Panchal (314* vs Punjab). However, Gujarat are well ahead in the race, given the lead. Gujarat are more than likely to make it to the semi-final of the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2016-17. With one more day to go, more records are likely to galore. Here is a list of highest individual scores for Gujarat:

Gohel reached his 100 at a strike rate of 35. However, once Gohel got his eye in, the runs came with ease and comfort, ending the day’s play at a strike rate of 47.02.