There was little room for doubt about Prithvi Shaw’s intentions when he walked out to chase 112 against Bengal at the Eden Gardens on Thursday. The target was modest, and the match situation comfortable enough, but Shaw was in no mood to treat the exercise as a formality. He wanted to make a statement, and he did so with the sort of uninhibited strokeplay that once made him one of Indian cricket’s most exciting prospects.
Maharashtra needed just 19.4 overs to complete a crushing 10-wicket victory, with Shaw unbeaten on 53 off 50 balls, including three boundaries and four sixes. At the other end, Sachin Dhas provided an equally assured presence, finishing on 61 not out off 68 deliveries as Maharashtra reached 114 without losing a wicket.
It was more than a routine victory. The seven points, including a bonus, took Maharashtra to 19 points and the top of Elite Group C, pushing Bengal down to second on 18. For Shaw, however, the significance of the afternoon extended beyond the points table. It was a timely reminder of the batter he can still be, and perhaps a small but important step towards finding his way back into the wider conversation.
Shaw hasn’t had an entirely convincing season with the bat. The half-century was only his second of the campaign, following four successive innings in which he managed 21, 0, 17 and 12. But he was unwilling to read too much into those failures, insisting that his batting had not fundamentally gone wrong.
“Some innings will go bad and some will go good. This will continue. I don’t feel I should take much tension because some have gone good and some have gone out on their own shots,” he said.
On Thursday, though, he was determined to make the most of the opportunity. Shaw revealed that he had specifically told Dhas to maintain a positive approach, wary of the dangers of becoming defensive on a surface where the ball could still cause problems.
“I told him to have a good intent, to be positive. If you are defensive on such wickets, you might get hit by a ball. I told the coach that I will try to hit 70-80 runs for this chase. I won’t be too defensive. I thought attacking is the best defence,” Shaw said.
The philosophy was evident from the outset. There was no attempt to grind Bengal into submission or allow the opposition bowlers an opportunity to build pressure. Shaw’s four sixes were a reflection of that intent, while Dhas, whom he described as a tremendous young talent, matched him with a fluent innings of his own.
The chase completed a remarkable turnaround in a match that had threatened to become competitive after Bengal’s second innings resistance. Having been dismissed for 143 in their first innings and conceded a lead of 75, the hosts were in considerable trouble at 87 for six. Abhishek Porel (65 off 84 balls) and Sumanta Gupta (59 off 93) briefly revived hopes with a 64-run seventh-wicket partnership. But once Porel fell, Bengal’s innings unravelled, ending at 186 in 54.4 overs.
Pradeep Dadhe and left-arm spinner Hitesh Walunj claimed four wickets apiece, while Tanay Sanghvi, whose unbeaten 60 had secured Maharashtra’s first-innings advantage, added two wickets to his match-winning contribution. Sanghvi was named man of the match.
For Shaw, the move from Mumbai to Maharashtra last season is another attempt to reclaim a career that once seemed destined for a very different trajectory. The former India Test opener has slipped out of favour after a combination of inconsistent performances and setbacks, and the road back is unlikely to be straightforward.
Yet the change of environment does not appear to have left him feeling isolated. Mumbai and Pune, he pointed out, are separated by barely two hours, while several familiar faces remain within the Maharashtra dressing room. “There are a lot of players with whom I have played and there is a good bonding. So I never felt that I have come so far from here,” he said.
There is, undeniably, a long way to go before Shaw can seriously contemplate an India comeback. He is conscious of that himself, preferring to resist the temptation of looking too far ahead. “I should not think so much ahead. Just keep winning good games, have good training and eat well,” said Shaw.
One unbeaten fifty cannot erase the disappointments of recent years, nor can a dominant Ranji Trophy chase guarantee a return to the highest level. But on Thursday, at the Eden Gardens, Shaw showed a glimpse of the spark that had made him such a hot topic not so many years ago.