Himachal Pradesh batsman Prashant Chopra is the highlight of the day 1 of the 84th edition of Ranji Trophy with his superlative innings of 271* off just 289 deliveries against Punjab.
The bowling line-up consisting of likes of Sandeep Sharma, Manpreet Singh Gony and Barinder Sran – all who have played for India – but this had no impact on the batting of Chopra.
Sran emerged as the costliest bowler of the day with figures of 18-0-114-0 whereas Sandeep Sharma, who got one wicket for 76 in his 18 overs, was the most economical bowler.
Surprisingly, Chopra is one of the batsmen who is not known to play big shots, especially when coming to this format of the game. He batted opposite to his nature.
Prashant’s innings ended on 338, as he was out, caught and bowled to Punjab’s Pargat Singh on day 2 of the first game.
Let’s know more about the batsman, who highlighted the Day 1 of Ranji Trophy –
Member of India Under19 World Cup winning team – Prashant Chopra was a member of Unmukt Chand led India U19 team that clinched the trophy in 2012, defeating Australia at their home. Chopra opened with the skipper in all the six games and scored a total of 178 runs, at an average of 28.66.
Replaced Manan Vohra in the side – Chopra was not a member of the India U-19 side initially. Manan Vohra, who was a member of the side, fractured his finger just a day before the team was to leave for the tourney and the Himachal Pradesh batsman was called to replace him.
Defensive to aggressive – Prashant Chopra is known for taking his time, playing slowly. Till the 2015/16 Ranji season, he used just to set his eyes on the ball, playing defensive shots, which had an impact on his strike rate. But in the previous season, there was a sudden change in his batting, and he played at a strike rate of 85.34, which saw him being called to the Rest of India squad for Irani Cup against Parthiv Patel led Gujarat.
Part of Duleep Trophy – Chopra was apart of India Green in the Duleep Trophy 2017/18, where he scored a total of 91 runs in three innings. India Green failed to qualify for the finals.
Selected for India A – Prashant Chopra is a member of the India A side for the last two games against New Zealand A, which also means that he will miss the next match of Ranji Trophy for Himachal Pradesh. He would return in the next round, but Himachal Pradesh will feel the pain of his absence from the side against Goa.