Danish Malewar scored a maiden first-class double century in the Duleep Trophy on Friday (August 29), and joined an exclusive club.
Danish Malewar extends good form with double ton on Duleep Trophy debut
The 21-year-old was selected in the Central Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy, which kicks off the 2025-26 domestic season in India. The team's first match began on August 28 against North East Zone, and they were put in to bat.
Malewar came to the crease at the fall of the first wicket, in the third over. He stitched partnerships of 139 with Aryan Juyal (60) and 199 with captain Rajat Patidar (125), who was leading in the absence of Dhruv Jurel. Stumps were called early on day one due to bad light and subsequent rain, and by that point Malewar was on 198, having gone past his previous best first-class score of 153, which came in last season's Ranji Trophy final.
Resuming this morning, Malewar struck a boundary in the first over of the day to go past 200 for the first time in his professional career. He then retired out on 203, allowing Shubham Sharma to come to the crease.
Retiring out in first-class cricket is not a common occurrence. It has become more prevalent of late in the shorter formats, especially T20, usually when a batter is struggling and the team feel it more beneficial to let another player have a go.
2nd Quarter Final, Central Zone vs North East Zone
vs
- Ball by ball Over
Malewar's dismissal was the 181st instance of a batter retiring out in first-class cricket. The last time this happened on Indian soil was in 2016-17, when Steve Smith (107) and Shaun Marsh (104), part of a touring Australian side playing against India A, did so at the Brabourne Stadium.
KL Rahul (101) and Ravindra Jadeja (51) were the last Indians to retire out in first-class cricket, playing against a County Select XI in 2021. 1996-97 was the last time a batter retired out in a match between two Indian domestic teams – Manoj Mudgal (101) for Uttar Pradesh against Rajasthan at Jaipur in the Ranji Trophy.
203, retired out: Malewar joins club of six with career-best effort
Having retired out after recording a double century, Malewar joined a club that now has only six members. The last batter to retire out after crossing 200 was Craig Spearman (216) for Gloucestershire against Oxford University Centre of Cricketing Excellence, in 2005. Spearman's score is the highest recorded in first-class cricket, for a batter that retired out.
Malewar is the first Indian in 81 years to do this, after Vijay Merchant, who retired out on 201 for Cricket Club of India against Services XI in December 1944. The first first-class cricketer to retire out after making a double century was also an Indian, in the same year as Merchant; Gogumal Kishenchand (204) for CK Nayudu's XI against DB Deodhar's XI in March 1944.
Sri Lanka's Marvan Atapattu is the only batter to retire out after a double century, in Test cricket.
| Name | Score | For | Against | Venue | Season |
| Gogumal Kishenchand | 204 | CK Nayudu's XI | DB Deodhar's XI | Baroda | 1943-44 |
| Vijay Merchant | 201 | Cricket Club of India | Services XI | Bombay | 1944-45 |
| Aravinda de Silva | 202 | Sri Lankans | Mashonaland Country Districts | Harare | 1994-95 |
| Marvan Atapattu* | 201 | Sri Lanka | Bangladesh | Colombo | 2001-02 |
| Craig Spearman | 216 | Gloucestershire | Oxford University Centre of Cricketing Excellence | Oxford | 2005 |
| Danish Malewar | 203 | Central Zone | North East Zone | Bengaluru | 2025-26 |
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