Prithvi Shaw's prayers go unanswered; out for an embarrassing duck in Ranji opener as Maharashtra suffer horror collapse

Ahead of the season, Shaw shared an Instagram post performing prayers and a pooja, captioning it, “Prayers that calm my heart and guide my path.” Yet, his Ranji Trophy debut for Maharashtra got off to a futile start, as he edged a fuller delivery that seamed back, hitting him plumb in front for MD Nidheesh’s first wicket for Kerala.

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The dismissal was a blip in his otherwise impressive start for Maharashtra earlier in the domestic season. The out-of-favour India opener made his first appearance for Maharashtra in the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament, where he scored 111, 1 and 66. This was followed by a sensational knock of 181 runs against his former team, Mumbai, in a three-day practice match at the MCA Stadium in Pune last week before the start of the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season.

However, the triple-figure knock was marred by his heated argument with Musheer Khan, Sarfaraz Khan's brother, during which he even swung his bat in an attempt to hit him. Although he later apologised to his former teammate.

Following Shaw's dismissal, Nidheesh dismissed No. 3 Siddhesh Veer off the very next delivery, while Nedumankuzhy Basil got rid of fellow opener Arshin Kulkarni on the first ball of the next over for a duck and then returned to end captain Ankit Bawne's resistance, also for a duck as Maharashtra incurred a dubious start in the opening game, managing just five runs for the loss of four wickets in 3.2 overs.

Incidentally, Musheer, who opened for Mumbai in their opener against Jammu and Kashmir, was nipped out by Auqib Nabi, who was at the centre of Jammu and Kashmir's prolific run to the knockouts in the 2024/25 season, for a duck as well.

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