Bengal’s History Making Batsman Aims At Other Targets 

Kolkata: Bengal batsman Pankaj Shaw, who smashed an unbeaten 413 in a local cricket league game here on Sunday, said his feat is history now and he wants to focus on other targets.

"I got a congratulatory call from Dada (former India captain and Cricket Association of Bengal President Sourav Ganguly) and it felt good," Shaw said.

"I am not thinking about my 400 yesterday. It's past now. I want to cement my place in the Bengal side and then take it one step at a time," the 28-year-old said.

Shaw, who made his Ranji Trophy debut for Bengal last season, played the massive innings for Barisha Sporting against Dakshin Kalikata Sansad (DKS) in the three-day First Division league tournament conducted by the CAB.

Pankaj ShawI am not thinking about my 400 yesterday. It’s past now. I want to cement my place in the Bengal side and then take it one step at a time

The middle-order batsman hit 44 fours and 23 sixes during his blistering knock. "I have struggled to come," Shaw, whose father runs a small grocery shop in Rajarhat, Kolkata, said.

"My father lost his job when I was very young and we grew up with limited resources. I have a big ground in front of my home and I used to play there. At times, my mother would throw the ball at me and I used to bat as my friends were not around," Shaw said.

Bengal have failed to qualify for the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals this season and their performance has been abysmal. Shaw's innings in the local league match can be thus taken as a belated balm for their wounds.

IANS