Irani Cup tie is twice as nice for Mumbai's Prithvi Shaw

RoI's Shaw says Vidarbha will be unique challenge with his Indian Oil captain Wasim Jaffer in their ranks along with ex-Mumbai coach Chandrakant Pandit

Prithvi Shaw

India U-19 World Cup-winning captain Prithvi Shaw is excited about his debut Irani Cup match as he will be up against his first Ranji Trophy coach Chandrakant Pandit's Ranji champion outfit, Vidarbha.

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Shaw has been selected in the Rest of India squad led by Karun Nair for the Irani Cup tie scheduled to be played in Nagpur from March 14 to 18. "It will be a good challenge for me as Pandit sir and Wasim Jaffer sir [former Mumbai skipper who is now Vidarbha's opening batsman] know me and my game very well. I will need to be patient, but it will be a good opportunity for Pandit sir as well," Shaw told mid-day at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai yesterday where he represented his employers Indian Oil in the DY Patil T20 Cup. Incidentally, Jaffer was skipper of the Indian Oil team that lost to CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General of India) by five wickets in the quarter-finals.

Vidarbha's Chandrakant Pandit

Shaw, who has scored five centuries in nine first-class matches so far is aware that the season-ending encounter is an important opportunity as he will be rubbing shoulders with the country's top domestic players. "This match will be a good opportunity for me to do well and I have grab this opportunity with both hands. It will be a challenging match and I will give it my best shot," said the 18-year-old opener.

Vidarbha's Wasim Jaffer

Interestingly, when Shaw last played in Nagpur, in the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals against Karnataka in December, he managed just two and 14, and Mumbai lost by an innings and 20 runs. "The venue may be the same but that was another match and this one will be an entirely different game," Shaw said confidently.

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