Irani Cup: Prithvi Shaw fails after Devdutt Padikkal’s sensational catch at slips
Prithvi Shaw’s poor run in first-class cricket continued as the Mumbai opener failed to trouble the scorers much on Day 1 of the Irani Cup match against Rest of India in Lucknow. On Tuesday, Prithvi Shaw managed just four runs from seven deliveries before he got out to pacer Mukesh Kumar.
Prithvi Shaw was undone by a delivery that pitched outside the off-stump and straightened. The Mumbai opener was unable to control his urge as he threw his bat at the delivery and found a thick outside edge. The ball flew to the right of Devdutt Padikkal, who was standing in the second slip. Padikkal flaunted his reflexes, diving to the right to hold on to it and complete a stunning catch. Devdutt was thrilled as the on-air commentators were awestruck by the fielding effort in the slip cordon.
Mumbai, the Ranji Trophy champions, were rattled in the first session of the Irani Cup match at the Shri Atal Vihari Vajpayee Stadium as Mukesh Kumar ran riot with the new ball. Dropped from the Test team, it seemed as if Mukesh was making a statement, picking three wickets.
Mumbai suffered a double blow in the third over as wicketkeeper-batter Hardik Tamore was caught behind for 0. In the 12th over, Mumbai lost their third wicket as opener Ayush Mhatre’s vigil ended. He was dismissed by Mukesh for 19 from 35 balls.
Mumbai recovered from the early setbacks as captain Ajinkya Rahane and senior batter Shreyas Iyer toughed it out in the middle, stitching a fifty-plus stand for the fourth wicket.
Prithvi Shaw’s form has seen a slump in the recent past. In his County Cricket stint in August-September, Prithvi was in fine form in List A cricket. However, he managed just 71 runs in six innings for Northamptonshire in the County Championship.
His recent red-ball form is in stark contrast to his numbers from Ranji Trophy 2023-24 season. Prithvi was in good form, hitting 451 runs, including a hundred and a fifty, in six matches in Mumbai’s victorious run. Shaw is not in the reckoning for Team India selection in red-ball cricket.
Shaw last played for India in December 2020. The Mumbai batter has played five Tests, scoring 339 runs, including a hundred for India.
