Team Herald
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PANJIM: Snehal Kauthankar and Kashyap Bakhale made Ranji Trophy history with a record-breaking 606-run partnership, helping Goa to crush Arunachal Pradesh by an innings and 551 runs, in their plate group match, at the GCA ground, Porvorim, on Thursday.
Kauthankar hammered 314 off just 215 balls, while Bakhale smashed an unbeaten 300 from 269 balls, lifting Goa to a mammoth 727 for 2 declared in just 92 overs, securing a 643-run first-innings lead. Arunachal Pradesh was then bowled out for 92 in 22.3 overs completing Goa’s overwhelming victory after they had already skittled Arunachal for 84 in the first innings. Lakshay Garg claimed four wickets.
The Kauthankar-Bakhale partnership rewrote numerous records, surpassing the previous Ranji Trophy highest partnership of 594 for the third wicket, set by Maharashtra’s SM Gugale and AR Bawne against Delhi at Wankhede Stadium in 2016. This incredible stand marked only the second occasion in Ranji Trophy history where two batters scored triple centuries in the same innings. The first instance was Tamil Nadu’s WV Raman and Arjun Kripal Singh, who hit 313 and 302 respectively, against Goa in 1989.
Globally, the 606-run stand ranks just behind the famous 624-run partnership between Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene in their Test match against South Africa in 2006. Goa’s first-innings total of 727 is now the second-highest score in the plate division, trailing only Meghalaya’s 826 for seven against Sikkim in 2018, and ranks as the ninth-highest across Ranji Trophy history.
Kauthankar’s blistering innings included 43 boundaries and four sixes and he reached his triple-century milestone in just 205 balls, placing him third in the all-time list of fastest First-Class triple centuries, behind Hyderabad’s Tanmay Agarwal and South Africa’s Marco Marais. The 29-year-old also achieved the fourth-fastest double-century in Ranji Trophy history, reaching 200 off just 146 balls.
Bakhale’s knock featured 39 fours and two sixes, cementing an unforgettable performance for the Goa duo.