Not bid for in IPL, but he scores 100 of 29 balls in Kanga League

Last year, 26-year-old batsman Neil Narvekar had casually filled the IPL auction form as a domestic player and surprisingly for him, his name came up in the bid but he wasn't picked up by any team as he was largely an unknown player. He will not remain unknown for long.

On Sunday the left-hander did some thing that could attract the attention of IPL franchisees this year. The Parkophene Cricketers's player scored a record 29-ball century becoming the quickest to reach the three figure match in Kanga League. His knock, comprising 12 sixes and six boundaries, came against hosts Khar Gymkhana in Purshottam Shield (B Division) of the league.

For Narverkar, who lives in Borivli, the party still continues as the news of his achievement spread gradually.

"It has not yet sunk in. I am getting lots of calls from my family and friends after my friends posted about the century on my facebook account and that's how the word spread. It took me some time to realise the importance of the knock," said Narvekar.

Narvekar added that it is not his natural game to go for big hits. "This knock wasn't planned. I just scored and I don't know how. Normally, my game is to play one ball at a time. We had already over taken Khar Gymkhana's first innings score of 349 and my job was out to go there and throw my bat around," he said.

Incidentally, Narvekar's parents visited the ground to watch him play for the first time and they got to see the record hundred.

"They were at the ground for the first time to see me play. I didn't want to bat out the remaining 40 minutes. Hence, I thought of entertaining them. I started playing my shots. Khar Gymkhana is a small ground where even a mistimed shot can go out of the park, but I was playing my proper shots. The bowling was decent, too, since its a B Division game," he said.

The southpaw was overwhelmed, especially, after a huge crowd of onlookers ran to the ground to congratulate him after he created a record.

"That was a special feeling, something I never imagined. They ran towards me after I completed my hundred. The onlookers complimented me for my knock. They also compared me to Yuvraj (Singh)," said Narvekar.

Narvekar doesn't want wonder whether he would make it to the Mumbai team. "My aim is to enjoy playing cricket. Who doesn't want to play for Mumbai? But I don't think along those lines as I just want to bat and score as many runs as possible," he said.

Asked if he thought his knock would attract attention from IPL teams, Narvekar said, "That would be nice, but as I said my aim is to score and enjoy batting."

Narvekar plays for Cerco BPO Pvt Ltd which plays in Times Shield B Division.

In the same game, promising batsman and Narvekar's teammate Prithvi Shaw scored a 78-ball 110 while skipper Parag Khanapurkar notched 110.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai Cricket Association Kanga League secretary Arvind Kadam acknowledged the record.

"My association with Mumbai cricket has been of 30 years but I haven't seen something like this. A 29-ball 100 is definitely a record," Kadam said.

Brief scores: Khar Gymkhana 349 all out (Ravi Shinde 118, Arjun Shetty 96, Agni Chopra 52, Mehboob Shaikh 32) lost to Parkophene Cricketers 492/9 (Prithvi Shaw 110, Parag Khanapurkar 110, Neil Narvekar 103, Vivek Arote 7/132) on first innings

Box
103 in 29 balls
The knoc 12 sixes and six fours
First 50 came in 11 balls



Know Neil
—Plays for Parkophene Cricketers in Kanga League B Division
—Is a middle order batsman
—Currently is employed with Cerco BPO Pvt Lrd
—Holds a record for scalping an all-ten in an Baghubhai Khichadia Inter-School Tourney in 2004
—The 26-year-old have played for his school St Francis D'Assisi School in Harris Shield
—Have played for Mumbai University and West Zone in Vizzy Trophy