Days after being released by CSK, Jagadeesan stuns cricketing world with highest List A score of 277

Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022-23: Tamil Nadu batter Narayan Jagadeesan smashes highest List A score of 277 and five concessive hundreds in the tournament. CSK released Jagadeesan ahead of IPL 2023 mini-auction.

Jagadeesan smashes 5 consecutive tons in VHT 2022-23 (Source: ©BCCI/Twitter)

Tamil Nadu opening batter Narayan Jagadeesan created history in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) 2022-23 by smashing five consecutive centuries in List A cricket. This is the first time where a batter has achieved this massive feat in the stated format. No other batter has ever scored more than 4 successive tons in the 50-overs format of white ball cricket.

Jagadeesan not only scored a century the 5th time around in the Vijay Hazare, he created a world record of sorts in that innings against Arunachal Pradesh at the hallowed M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The right-hander made a jaw-dropping 277 off just 141 deliveries and this epic knock included 25 fours and a staggering 15 maximums.

Jagadeesan has 822 runs in VHT 2022-23 which is 236 runs clear of 2nd placed B Sai Sudharsan

Jaggi as he is fondly called, has a tally of 822 runs from the 7 innings he has played in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022-23, and he has scored those runs at an incredible average of 164.40. He has scored close to half of his career List A runs (2082 @ 50.78) in Vijay Hazare and has shown the world that he belongs to this league.

Jagadeesan is the highest run-scorer in VHT 2022-23, and is 236 runs ahead of his teammate in the Tamil Nadu squad, B Sai Sudharsan. He is just 6 runs shy of breaking Prithvi Shaw’s record tally of 827 runs in a single Vijay Hazare Trophy season.

Records in the name of N Jagadeesan

The former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter broke several national and international records in the process.

1. As mentioned above, Narayan Jagadeesan became the first batter in the history of the game to score 5 successive centuries in List A cricket. Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara made 4 tons in Cricket World Cup 2015, while former South Africa opener Alviro Petersen (2015) and India’s Devdutt Padikkal (2019) also hit 4 hundreds in domestic 50-overs cricket.

2. Jagadeesan took just 114 balls to score his double century, which is the joint-fastest in List A cricket along with Travis Head who scored a double hundred in the same number of balls against Queensland in 2021 in Marsh Trophy which is the premier List A tournament in Australia.

3. This is the first time in Vijay Hazare Trophy that a batter has hit 5 centuries in a single edition. Former India skipper Virat Kohli (2008-09), Prithvi Shaw & Devdutt Padikkal (both in 2020-21) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (2021-22) have made 4 tons each in a single VHT in the past.

4. Jagadeesan’s 277 is the highest ever List A score surpassing Surrey batter Alistair Brown’s score of 268 against Glamorgan in 2002 and Rohit Sharma’s legendary knock of 264 against Sri Lanka in an ODI game in 2014.

Read More: IPL 2023 Retentions: SRH release Williamson, CSK let go of Bravo while most franchises retain core

Jagadeesan represented CSK in IPL 2022 (Source: ©BCCI/IPL)

Jagadeesan answers with the bat after CSK released him

But things didn’t come easy for the talented right-hander from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. The opener was released by the Chennai Super Kings just before the 2023 IPL mini-auctions, and his herculean effort against Arunachal Pradesh can be seen as a sort of redemption for Jagadeesan. This stunning run of form has put Jagadeesan firmly in contention to be among the most sought out Indian players at the upcoming IPL 2023 mini-auction which is going to be held in Kochi on December 23.

Jaggi is definitely someone who will be in most of the team’s radar, including his former team CSK for whom he has played just 7 games in his 4-year stint with them. He could manage only 73 runs at a strike rate of just above 110 and subsequently became one of the 8 players to be released by the franchise.

After his epic knock against Arunachal, Jagadeesan reflected on his release from the CSK team. He said, “That is something that was not in my control. It was their choice (to release me) and it wasn’t mine. All I could do was control the controllables, that is me playing cricket. So, I was just keen and focused on that.”

Read More: Mumbai Indians star all-rounder Kieron Pollard (10k+ runs & 300+ wickets in T20) bids adieu to IPL

TN batter presenting a strong case for himself for an India call up

However, the 26-year-old has peaked at the right time and is making the right noises just ahead of IPL 2023 mini-auction. He is now seen as a bright young prospect not just for Tamil Nadu but also for India. If he continues the same vein of form in the upcoming Ranji Trophy, who knows Jagadeesan could be a candidate to be a part of India’s plans going forward, although it seems unlikely at present given India’s depth.

But the purple patch of Jagadeesan is such that it will be hard for the selectors to ignore the batter, especially after such an impactful performance, which has become something significant in the world of cricket. One may argue, his 277 has come against Arunachal Pradesh which has a largely mediocre bowling attack and on a smallish ground, but scoring such a mammoth amount of runs requires a lot of grit, patience and concentration.

The majority of 4 other centuries that preceded his 277, came against decent bowling and fans could hope that bigger things are in store from the bat of Jagadeesan in the coming months. Jagadeesan’s year of hard work and sharing rooms with some of the best players of CSK over the years are finally paying for the batter and it seems as if he is reaping the just rewards now.

Tamil Nadu play Saurashtra in 4th QF of VHT 2022-23

By virtue of finishing at the top in Elite Group C in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022-23, Tamil Nadu have directly qualified for the quarter-final stage of the premier List A competition of India this season. They will face Elite Group A toppers Saurashtra in the fourth quarter-final of VHT 2022-23 at the Kheda District Cricket Association Ground in Nadiad on November 28.

Read More: IPL 2023: A look at franchises which have backed their core