Internet Desk: Maharashtra captain Swapnil Gugale set an example of putting the team first in place of personal achievements. Leading his team for the first time in Ranji Trophy, Gugale and Ankit Bawne shared a partnership of 594* runs for the third wicket against Delhi at the Wankhede stadium. The partnership of the duo came tantalizingly close to breaking the world record (624 runs) set by Sri Lankan legends Mahela Jayawerdene and Kumar Sangakkara.
Captain and opener Gugale struck a magnificent 351* (521 balls, 37×4, 5×6) while Bawne remained undefeated on 258* (500 balls, 18×4, 2×6) against Delhi on the second day of their Ranji Trophy tie.
It was Gugale’s third century in first class cricket. For Bawne, it was his 14th test century in first class cricket.
This is the highest ever partnership for any wicket in the tournament’s history (Previous best – 577 between Vijay Hazare (288) and Gul Mohammed (319) for Baroda Vs Holkar in 1947). Gugale-Bawne broke 69-year-old record. The duo could have carried on but the 25-year-old Gugale put team before personal milestones as he declared the innings at 635/2 in 173 overs. The 2nd wicket had fallen at 41 in 8.1 overs. At stumps on first day yesterday (October 13), Gugale was batting on 152 and Bawne on 120. Maharashtra was 290/2 in 90 overs.
Both Gugale and Bawne registered their highest first-class scores. In his previous 17 games, Gugale’s top score was 174 while Bawne’s previous best was 172 in 61 matches.
The world record partnership for any wicket in first-class history belongs to the Sri Lankan pair of Jayawardene and Sangakkara with 624 runs (Scorecard) against South Africa in Colombo in 2006. Gugale and Bawne missed the mark by 30 runs. In that historic Test, Sangakkara scored 287 and skipper Jayawardene hit 374 as Sri Lanka won by an innings and 153 runs.