Chinmay Sutar hits 400 not out in second first-class match

Chinmay Sutar scored an unbeaten 400 for Mizoram against Nagaland on October 19, becoming only the second player to reach that mark in the Ranji Trophy. It was his second first-class match.

The 29-year-old’s innings lasted 517 balls and included 46 fours and seven sixes. Mizoram declared at 581 for nine at the Nagaland Cricket Stadium in Sovima, with Sutar still at the crease.

Only B. B. Nimbalkar remains above him on the tournament’s individual-score list. Nimbalkar made 443 not out for Maharashtra against Kathiawar in the 1948–49 season. Sutar went past Prithvi Shaw’s 379 to move into second place, but the 78-year-old record survived.

The finish required support from the other end. The Times of India reported that last batter Lalrempunia Chhakchhuak contributed 14 from 76 balls in an unbeaten tenth-wicket stand with Sutar, helping keep the innings alive as he approached four hundred.

There was a very different ending to Sutar’s first-class debut in the previous round: he was run out for 99 against Manipur. One match later, he reached four hundred without being dismissed.

Sutar came to Mizoram after playing for Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He had also represented India at under-23 level in the 2019 Emerging Teams Asia Cup, bringing experience in limited-overs cricket to his first-class career.

His contribution amounted to almost 69 per cent of Mizoram’s entire first-innings score. The match was still in progress when the milestone was reported; the declaration and the individual record did not settle the match result.