Incredible journey of Prithvi Shaw

Santosh Pingulkar is a relieved man. A local cricket coach from Virar had a moment of pride on Thursday afternoon when his protege — Prithvi Shaw — went on to become one of the youngest to score a century on Test debut.

India opener Shaw's 134 off 154 balls laced with 19 boundaries against West Indies on Day One of the first Test at the Saurastra Cricket Assocaition, Rajkot, made many changes in statistical record on cricket.

Shaw made it to the seventh spot in the list of youngest centurions, fourth highest score by an Indian on Test debut and 15th Indian to have scored a ton on Test debut.

Pingulkar chose to not miss a single ball of Shaw's Test debut for India. He was glued to his television set as memories of the younger Shaw and his first ever student kept coming everytime he played a shot.

"He was my first student after I started my academy in Virar," says Pingulkar. The coach spotted the youngster as a four year old when he was playing with his friends.

"He was very small. But was god-gifted and very stylish. He had a great grasping power," adds Pingulkar, who coached Shaw till the age of 12.

Once Shaw grew older, the coach asked him to step into new arenas if he wanted to grow as a cricketer. Pingulkar recommended his father to join Rizvi Springfield, one of the top schools in Mumbai cricket, and MIG Cricket Club's academy, both in Bandra.

It wasn't easy for Shaw and his father Pankaj to take the next step. The Senior Shaw had to shut his small-time garment business if he had to work on his son's cricket career.

"Prithvi's mother died when he was small. Pankaj played the dual role of both father and mother to the boy. He would cook food for Prithvi and ensure he doesn't indulge in outside food or borrow from somebody's tiffin," says Pingulkar.

A decision to travel to the city from the suburb of Virar wasn't easy. One has to travel more than an hour to reach Mumbai. And it is tougher in peak hours. To avoid the rush hour, the father-son duo, carrying heavy cricket gear, would leave home in the morning at four, to be there on time at the grounds for practice and games.

"Prithvi would always be on time despite staying so far. He has never questioned or asked for a leeway that he stays so far and should be given luxury of coming late. He loved the game so much," says Raju Pathak, coach of Rizvi Springfield school.

Shaw impressed Pathak in the first instance. "The father-son came in plain clothes asking for admission in school. I asked them to come over for practice. When I asked Prithvi to bat in the nets for juniors, he said that he would like to bat against the seniors. I said no. After two balls, I had no option but to allow him to bat," Pathak adds.

Shaw would dominate school cricket thereafter. And then he scored world record of 546 runs in 2013 in Harris Shield against St Francis D'Assisi at Azad Maidan.

"That was one knock. He was hungry. He had seen his seniors Sarfaraz Khan and Arman Jaffer do wonders by score quadruple hundreds in Harris Shield and Giles Shield. I could sense the eagerness to better those records. A year after Armaan got a quadruple in Harris, Prithvi bettered it with 546," says Pathak.

While Shaw played, his father, a cricket lover, refrained from meddling with his son's cricket. "I have seen fathers, who want their kids to get most opportunities. But Pankaj was never like that. He witnessed every game from far, but never interfered in team meetings.

"However, I have heard that he would later scold Prithvi for playing a rash shot or not capitalising on good starts," adds Pathak.

Post 546, opportunities came galore for Shaw. A veteran cricket analyst Makrand Waingankar, too, helped the youngster get an opportunity for a cricket scholarship in United Kingdom, where he played for Cheadle Hulme School.

"I first saw Prithvi as a nine-year-old. He was barely four feet tall but the impact of the bat hitting the ball was so different. He was a special talent,"

As Shaw flourished in the cricket fields, money started pouring in and opportunities too. Young Shaw signed a sponsorship deal worth Rs 36 lakh. Both father and son moved Santa Cruz, closer to the grounds. Shaw moved closer to achieving his goal.

He went on to play first class cricket — hitting centuries on debut in both Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy. His journey entered the fast lane. Those who have seen Shaw grow would claim that Thursday's century is just an important milestone, of many to come, in this incredible journey of the boy from Virar.

N ZONE 

99 No. of balls Prithvi Shaw took to score his century, the third-fastest by a Test debutant after Shikhar Dhawan (85) and Dwayne Smith (93)

DID YOU KNOW?

• Prithvi Shaw has scored a century each on his Ranji Trophy debut, Duleep Trophy debut as well as Test debut
   
• Shaw is the third player to score a ton in first-class debut and Test debut after Gundappa Viswanath and Dirk Wellham