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There was no escape for bowlers at Scindia School Cricket Ground, Gwalior as Uttar Pradesh opener Shantanu Singh smashed fours and sixes all around the park in his monstrous 123-ball 270. Thousands of miles away, England head coach Brendon McCullum would be happy as Shantanu took the 'Bazball' approach further as his knock helped Uttar Pradesh posted 599/7 from 62 overs before declaring the innings against Manipur in Vijay Merchant Trophy 2024-25 clash.
Shantanu's T20 approach gets him to 270
On December 22, Uttar Pradesh lost the wicket of Sarthak Chechi early in the innings. Shantanu did not take much time to settle and dealt in boundaries. Shlok Dinesh Sharma scored 45 runs from 51 balls whereas captain Yuvraj smashed three sixes and seven fours in his 47-ball 71. Manipur bowlers found no respite as the brutal attack continued. Mohammad Anas contributed with a 22-ball 34 before Kushal Yadav walked in to bat in the 42nd over. Till then, Uttar Pradesh had already crossed the 400-run mark.
Shantanu had crossed the double century mark in the second session itself. He was toying with the bowlers treating the red-ball game as if it is T20 cricket. He missed his triple century as Romesh got his wicket. The opener scored at a strike rate of 219.51. He hit 29 fours and 13 sixes in his 123-ball 270.
Kushal's quickfire century
After the opener departed Prince Panwar and Kushal shared an 89-run partnership. Panwar scored 43 runs from 37 balls. Aditya Singh could not do much damage and departed after scoring 14 runs from 17 balls. Yuvraj declared the innings once Kushal reached his century from 64 balls. He hit 15 fours and two sixes in his unbeaten century.
Massive win for Uttar Pradesh
In reply, Manipur were bowled out for 74 in 27.1 overs. Aditya Singh was the pick of the bowlers with five wickets for just 11 runs. Yuvraj enforced follow-on and there was only a little improvement in Manipur's score as they were bowled out for 98 in 33.2 overs. Lucky top-scored with 42 runs from 50 balls featuring seven fours and a six. Chechi got a four-wicket haul whereas Shantanu did some damage with the ball taking three wickets. Uttar Pradesh won the match by an innings and 427 runs.
