Drona Desai, 18, etched his name in the history books during a Diwan Ballubhai Cup under-19 tournament in Gandhinagar, Gujarat on Tuesday. At a tender age of 18, Desai smashed a marathon 498 runs for his school, St Xaviers (Loyola) against JL English School at the Shivay cricket ground. Desai’s knock, which came off 320 balls, included seven sixes and 86 fours and earned St Xaviers a massive innings and 712 runs win over JL English School, who played the game with 10 man after one of their players arrived late for the match.
Who is Drona Desai?
With his knock of 498, Desai entered an elite list of players who have reached such tall scores in Indian cricket history.
Before him, only five batters — Mumbai’s Pranav Dhanawade (1009 not out), Prithvi Shaw (546), Dr Havewalla (515), Chamanlal (506 not out) and Arman Jaffer (498) — had scored 498 or more runs in an innings.
“I wasn’t aware I was so near to 500. There was no scoreboard, and my team didn’t inform me. I went to play my stroke and got out, but I’m happy to have made those runs,” he told the Indian Express.
So, when did Desai’s journey? The 18-year-old told the Indian Express that he started playing cricket at the tender age of seven.
He took up the sport after watching his idol, Sachin Tendulkar, bat. However, the credit goes to his father, who identified his talent and helped him receive quality coaching under Jayprakash Patel, a renowned coach who has mentored over 40 cricketers in the region.
“I began to play cricket at the age of seven and my father pushed me hard as he felt I have in me to become a good cricketer. He took me to JP Sir (Jayprakash Patel) who had coached more than 40 cricketers. Such is the scenario that since standard 8 to 12, I just went to school for my exams. I just continued playing cricket and am hoping to make it big one day.”
Desai has also represent Gujarat at the Under-14 level, but his recent exploits might put him in contention for a place in the U-19 team.
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