Tamil Nadu batter Narayan Jagadeesan opened up on his mantra to success post his record-breaking knock in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022. Jagadeesan says “stay in the middle and bat till the 50 overs” as his secret mantra for his world record-breaking 277.
Jagadeesan On His Record-Breaking Knock
Jagadeesan who failed to register his name in the IPL 2023 retained players list has now become a piece of sensation news for his historic 277-run knock in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022.
Narayan Jagadeesan who has been a part of Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2022 was released by the franchise ahead of the IPL 2023 auction.
With his impressive knock, Narayan Jagadeesan has surpassed many legends and reached a new milestone.
“It felt really good…,” said Jaggi, as he is called by his teammates when asked about his reaction to smashing a world record score.
“I mean I think not only this game but even in the other games the only aim for me is to play 50 overs. Who the opposition is doesn’t matter. There is one process for me, the aim is to stay in the middle.” It was the ‘keeper-batter’s fifth consecutive hundred as he pulverised the hapless Arunachal bowling attack, scoring 277 from 141 balls which included 15 sixes.
Narayan Jagadeesan has the most number of consecutive tons in a single season of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, having surpassed players like Virat Kohli, Prithvi Shaw, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devdutt Padikkal, who have scored four centuries each.
Kohli had struck four tons in the 2008/09 season while Gaikwad did it in 2021/22 and Shaw and Padikkal both in 2020/21.
“I have been working a lot on my batting and also my keeping and especially on my fitness. I have been doing it for some time now. Eventually when I score runs I feel good,” he said.
Jagadeesan said he cherished his 128-run knock against Haryana the most.
“I think I would have to say (the one against) Haryana was very good. They had a good bowling attack and the ball was seaming around even in the 40th over. Obviously I cherish all the knocks but the Haryana one was tougher.” Asked if he was aware of the record, Jagadeesan said he was just following the process.
“No, not really, I was not really thinking about all the records. It was just about batting and following all that I have been doing.” Apart from the highest ever List A score, Jagadeesan and his opening partner B Sai Sudharsan set a record for highest partnership for any wicket in a 50-overs game.
“It has been amazing. I love batting with Sai. We complement each other a lot. We run hard between the wickets, that is something which we feel really good about. We enjoy each other’s company.” On keeping wickets after batting for nearly 50 overs, Jagadeesan said: “I am really happy about that to be honest. After working hard on my fitness, for me to play almost 50 hours and then keep wickets, it feels good.”
Jagadeesan surpassed Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara, South Africa’s Alviro Petersen, and Karnataka player Devdutt Padikkal, all of whom have four centuries on the trot in the history of List A cricket.
“That’s not my choice, it was their choice. It is not something which I could control. The only thing I could do was control how I could play.” He was with CSK for four years and got to play seven IPL games.
Tamil Nadu coach M Venkataramana was all praise for Jagadeesan and Sudharsan.
“Great tournament for both Sai and Jagadeesan so far. They complement each other well and the energy levels they have on the field is tremendous. Both play some good cricketing shots to build a long inning. Their intent and hunger to score big can be seen in their approach,” he said.
Narayan Jagadeesan’s 277 includes 15 sixes – The most number of sixes by a batter in a single fixture in Indian domestic cricket. Jagadeesan surpassed 12 maximums by Yashaswi Jaiswal for Mumbai against Jharkhand in Alur in 2019.
