Young batting sensation Prithvi Shaw has carved his name into the annals of Ranji Trophy history with an astonishing double century. Playing just his second official match for Maharashtra against Chandigarh, the 25-year-old delivered an electrifying performance that instantly puts him in the same breath as legendary figures like Virender Sehwag and Ravi Shastri.
This incredible feat unfolded during the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season at the Sector 16 Cricket Stadium in Chandigarh. After a quiet start in the first innings, where he managed only eight runs, Shaw roared back with an unforgettable second innings display.
He hammered 222 runs off a mere 156 balls, showcasing an aggressive brand of cricket with 29 boundaries and five massive sixes. His strike rate stood at an impressive 142.31. Shaw raced to his century in just 73 balls and then powered through to his double century in a blistering 141 deliveries.
This rapid double century now stands as the fastest in the Ranji Trophy’s elite competition in the 21st century. It even eclipses his own previous record of 174 balls, which he set against Baroda in the 2019-20 season. Looking further back into the 91-year history of India’s premier first-class competition, only Ravi Shastri’s incredible 1984 innings for Bombay against Baroda was quicker. Shastri’s memorable innings also famously included him becoming the first Indian to hit six sixes in an over.
Shaw now uniquely holds two of the top four spots for the fastest double centuries in the first division of India’s premier first-class competition. Only Shastri and Shaw have achieved this remarkable milestone in fewer than 150 balls in the Ranji Trophy’s elite group.
If we consider players from the plate division, Tanmay Agarwal’s blazing performance in the 2023-24 season against Arunachal Pradesh in Secundarabad also stands out, marking the third-fastest double century in first-class cricket history.
Shaw now joins Virender Sehwag as only the second Indian to score multiple double hundreds in first-class cricket in under 200 balls. Sehwag achieved this astonishing feat three times, a world record he shares with Graeme Hick. Globally, only eight players have scored multiple double centuries in under 200 balls. Beyond these, twenty other Indian cricketers have reached double centuries at a brisk run-a-ball pace, including luminaries like Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Sachin Tendulkar, Sarfaraz Khan, and Shreyas Iyer, alongside Shastri.
Sehwag’s record of three double centuries in Test cricket, all achieved in under 200 balls, remains unparalleled by any other Indian player. Only three other international players—Nathan Astle, Ben Stokes, and Brendon McCullum—have matched this specific achievement in Test match cricket.
To recap, the fastest double centuries in Ranji Trophy Elite Group matches are:
1. Ravi Shastri (123 balls) for Bombay vs. Baroda in 1984/85 (Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium)
2. Prithvi Shaw (141 balls) for Maharashtra vs. Chandigarh in 2025-26 (Chandigarh)
3. Rajesh Bora (156 balls) for Assam vs. Bihar in 1991-92 (Ranchi)
4. Prithvi Shaw (174 balls) for Mumbai vs. Baroda in 2019-20 (Vadodara)