Mushneer Khan was en route to 200, but a Kuldeep Yadav delivery finally did the trick
The biggest name trending in the Indian cricket circuit right now is Mushneer Khan, a name even hardcore cricket enthusiasts have probably not heard of before. In the India A vs. India B match of the ongoing Duleep Trophy, India B was reduced to 94 for seven in 43.5 overs. However, batting at number three, Khan kept his composure and continued his inning. The session entered Day 2, and Khan did not come to a halt in the first half of the day, troubling Indian A bowlers.
🔹19-Year-Old Shines with a Gritty Century!
— SportsCafe (@IndiaSportscafe) September 5, 2024
Musheer Khan brings up his third first-class century, pulling his team out of a precarious position. #DuleepTrophy pic.twitter.com/2NhWJRNkHT
Brother of Sarfaraz Khan, Mushneer made his debut first-class cricket debut in 2022 for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy season 2022-2023. In represented the U-19 team in the 2024 World Cup, where Mushneer scored two centuries. India did not lift the trophy but finished as the runner-up, with Mushneer proving himself to be an essential cog. In his debut Ranji match, he scored his first first-class century, hitting 105 runs off 227, including ten boundaries and two sixes.
On his Duleep Trophy debut, Mushneer matched the record of Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly by scoring a century. Thirty-three years ago, Tendulkar and Ganguly made their debut in domestic cricket. Then, a 17-year-old Tendulkar had scored 159 runs, while Ganguly had hit 124 in the match between West Zone and East Zone in Guwahati.
This was not the first time Mushneer matched or broke Tendulkar’s record. Earlier in March, he scored a tonne in the final of the Ranji Trophy at the age of 19. Previously, Sachin Tendulkar held the record for scoring a tonne in the Ranji final of 1994-95 against Punjab at the age of 21.
Even in the Under-19 World Cup, Mushneer was the second-highest run-getter of the tournament. He scored 360 runs, maintaining a batting average of 60 and a strike rate of 98.09, and his highest score came against New Zealand. Even with the ball, Mushneer left the spectators impressed with his bowling skills. He picked up seven wickets in the tourney at an average of 26.57 and also bowled six maidens. In terms of fielding, he picked up three catches and made one run-out.
While Indian cricketers took to social media to praise Mushneer’s effort, Suryakumar Yadav’s went viral. He took a line straight from the movie M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story and wrote, “What a Knock my boy. Duty k baad roz practice, jitna duty utna practice. @sarfarazkhan97 happy elder brother.”
What a knock musheer khan 💯👌💪🤩
— Surya Kumar Yadav (@surya_14kumar) September 5, 2024
Supported really well by Navdeep Saini 🫡.
Duty ke baad roz practice, jitna duty utna practice 😅💪 #DuleepTrophy2024
Mushneer’s knock came to an end, courtesy of a Kuldeep Yadav delivery and a catch taken by Riyan Parag. Khan scored 181 runs in 373 balls, including 16 fours and five sixes.
