23 December,2010 08:26 AM IST | | Husain M Zaidi
IES Raja Shivaji, Dadar had to toil extremely hard for the major part of two days to dismiss Rizvi Springfield's Armaan Jaffer, the nephew of India opener Wasim. And when the moment finally arrived, he had a record-breaking 498 to his name as Rizvi put up a colossal 800 for 8 declared in the Giles Shield at Karnatak Sporting Association ground at Cross Maidan.
The right hander is not the first quadruple hundred scorer in the Giles Shield. Yet, Parikshit Valsangkar, who scored 357 for IES VN Sule Guruji, Dadar in the elite division against Christ Church school last year, is considered the record holder.
According to the Mumbai Schools Sports Association's general secretary H S Bhor, Parikshit's feat is considered as the previous highest because the tournament has been now divided into Elite and Plate sections. Armaan was dismissed two short of 500 when he edged a delivery from Gaurang Parsekar to be caught in the slips. That Armaan could amass 498 and his team totaled 800 for eight reflected poorly on Raja Shivaji's bowling.
But Armaan stayed away from being critical of his benevolent opposition. "The pitch did not allow any lateral movement. Also, I kept it simple and didn't take too many chances," said Armaan.
Flat track
"Whatever we threw at him, he tackled with ease, but the pitch was a pretty flat one too," said off-spinner Akshay Pagare, who was the pick of the bowlers for Raja Shivaji with three victims.
Off-spinner Parsekar, who got the prize scalp of Armaan, attributed the bowling side's helplessness to inexperience. Raja Shivaji's coach Ashok Nagwekar was not a disappointed man though. "I'm happy for both Armaan and my team. Rizvi are the defending champions.
"Many of our boys are playing for the first time. It is a good learning curve for them," said Nagwekar.
