Stats: Abhishek Gupta scores double century on Ranji Trophy debut

After keeping for 148 overs while the opposition scored 729 runs at a rate of 4.93 runs per overs, Abhishek Gupta walked out to bat on his first-class debut when his team score was 265/5 and they still needed 315 to avoid a follow-on. The Punjab wicketkeeper batted out nearly three sessions and scored a double hundred to make his debut a memorable one and took his team pretty close to the Himachal Pradesh total.

With this knock, Abhishek became only the 15th player in first-class cricket history and the 6th from India to score a double hundred on debut. However, the 27-year-old is the only player among the 15 players to have played their debut game as wicketkeeper. Abhishek scored 202 off 203 balls before getting out as the 9th wicket in Punjab’s innings. He shared a 239-run stand with Abhishek Sharma which helped them post 601 on the board.

Double century on first-class debut:

He also became the 9th player to score a double ton on Ranji Trophy debut and only the 3rd wicketkeeper after George Abell and Budhi Kunderan. The Punjab keeper-batsman brought up his double ton off just 200 balls, the 8th fastest known double century in Ranji Trophy and the fastest by any player on Ranji debut. Four of the top seven fastest known double centuries in RT are recorded by Bombay/Mumbai players.

Gupta’s double century is also possibly the 2nd fastest by any player on first-class debut. Waldemar Marx in 1920 scored 240 runs in just 225 minutes by scoring 163 runs in the first session of the game itself. Marx might have taken fewer than 200 balls but his milestone is not known.

Among the nine players who have scored a double hundred on Ranji Trophy debut, three of them have already made their debut in first-class cricket. The first two players to score a double hundred on Ranji debut; Abell and Kunderan played FC matches before making their maiden appearance in the tournament. The last of the previous eight players, Vijay Zol also made his first-class debut before featuring in RT.

Double century on Ranji Trophy debut:

(Stats on October 9, 2017)