Prithvi Shaw made an impact in his first competitive outing for Maharashtra, striking a century against Chhattisgarh in the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament at Guru Nanak College in Chennai on Tuesday, 19 August.
Shaw reached his hundred in 122 deliveries, fighting a lone battle at the top of the order for Maharashtra.
He marked the occasion with a subdued celebration after completing his century in the 44th over of Maharashtra’s innings. The former Mumbai batter raised his bat to acknowledge the applause from the dressing room before sharing an embrace with his batting partner, Siddharth Mhatre.
On a testing pitch that offered inconsistent bounce and assistance for the spinners, Shaw applied himself diligently to reach the milestone. Immediately after crossing the three-figure mark, he successfully negotiated a delivery that kept low, demonstrating his concentration and composure at the crease.
By the time he reached his century on Day Two of the three-day Round One encounter, Shaw had struck 14 boundaries and one six. His hundred came a day after for Mumbai against TNCA XI in the tournament.
Shaw had left Mumbai at the end of last season to join Maharashtra. The 25-year-old made the move after being dropped from the Ranji Trophy squad, having last represented Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament in December 2024.
The out-of-favour India opener also featured in the T20 Mumbai League earlier in June, following his disappointment of going unsold at the IPL 2025 auction. Questions regarding his form and fitness had been widely discussed, and missing out on the IPL added further fuel to the debate. However, the young batter opted to switch to Maharashtra in pursuit of more consistent opportunities to play competitive cricket.
Maharashtra were in a spot of bother as they lost four wickets for just 16 runs after having gotten to 71 for 0. Chennai Super Kings captain Rutuaj Gaikwad was dismissed for 1 as Maharashtra slipped to 86 for 4. However, Prithvi stood firm and scored more than 75 percent of the team’s total in the first two sessions.
Earlier, Chattisgarh made 252 on Day 1, riding on fifties from Sanjeet Desai (93) and Avnish Singh Dhaliwal (52).