Chinmay Sutar's feat at Souvima !!

 

Remember buying Sportstar in 1988 that had on its Greame Hick – reading  :  -  Hick, Hick, Hick, Hick !! – decipher what ?

Sovima is an Angami Naga village   located in the Chümoukedima district (near Dimapur) in Nagaland, India; the name translates to mean "good and respectable guests".

The Battle of Kohima was the turning point of the Japanese offensive into India in 1944 during the Second World War.  The battle is often referred to as the "Stalingrad of the East".  The place of occurrence,  Nagaland in North East India borders Assom, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Burma.  The state is inhabited by 16 tribes, each tribe is unique in character with its own distinct customs, language and dress.  Nagaland is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and the Naga Self-Administered Zone of the Sagaing Region of Myanmar (Burma). Its capital city is Kohima and its largest city is the twin Chümoukedima–Dimapur.  In the 19th century, the British India forces began expanding their influence in Northeast India, including the Naga Hills. After India's independence in 1947, the question of the Naga Hills' political status emerged. Nagaland was a district in the State of Assam until 1957, known to others as "The Naga Hills".   

Mizoram  with Aizawl as its capital is a State that shares international borders with Bangladesh and Myanmar - has domestic borders with the Indian states of Assam, Manipur, and Tripura. One of the two official languages and most widely spoken tongue is Mizo,[b] which serves as a lingua franca among various ethnic communities who speak a variety of other Tibeto-Burman or Indo-Aryan languages

No History or Geography post but one on Cricket as these two are playing in Ranji trophy match today and a History was created. Mizoram batting first has declared at 581/9 !!  ~  Chinmay Sutar has hit an unbeaten 400!! 

Chinmay Sutar, the 29-year-old Mizoram batter, has become the second India player to hit a quadruple century in a first-class innings. Playing in only his second first-class fixture, Sutar surpassed Prithvi Shaw's 379 to achieve the second-highest score in Ranji Trophy history, finishing on an unbeaten 400*, against Nagaland in a plate league fixture in Sovima.

Sutar, who was unbeaten on 392 at tea, reached 400 in the 155th over before Mizoram declared on 581 for 9. By then, he had put together an unbroken 190 for the tenth wicket with Lalrempunia Chhakchhuak. Sutar was within touching distance for the all-time record for the tournament's highest-ever individual score, held by BB Nimbalkar, who hit 443* for Maharashtra against Kathiawar in 1948-49. Their partnership is the third highest for the last-wicket in Ranji history, 43 short of the all-time record for the highest last-wicket stand in Ranji history - 233 runs

Sutar represented Mumbai earlier this year during the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the domestic 50-overs competition, following impressive returns in the local leagues. He featured for  MSC Maratha Royals  and made his  Ranji Trophy debut for Mizoram in last week's season opener, hitting 35 and 99 in their narrow three-wicket loss to Manipur.  

Nimbalkar’s name stand etched on Indian domestic cricket for his   443 not out for Maharashtra against Kathiawar in   1948-49. He never represented India in an official Test and played for the country only once - against the first Commonwealth team.   In Dec 1948,  Kathiawar were all out for 238 and Nimbalkar, who came in at No. 3, and KV Bhandarkar added 455 runs for the second wicket which stood as an Indian first-class record for 43 years. At 443, he was within striking distance of Don Bradman's then world record score of 452, made 19 years earlier when the Kathiawar captain, Thakore Sahib of Rajkot, decided to concede the match with the Maharashtra score 826 for 4. The match thus came to an abrupt end and Nimbalkar was deprived of a famous world record.

If you remember that first line -   Graeme Ashley Hick MBE is  a Zimbabwean-born former England cricketer who played 65 Test matches and 120 One Day Internationals for England. He was born in Rhodesia, and as a young man played international cricket for Zimbabwe. He played English county cricket for Worcestershire for his entire English domestic career, a period of well over twenty years. 

In May 1988,  at 21 years of age, against Somerset he set a County Championship record by scoring 405 runs in a single innings. Worcestershire were 132 for five at one stage with Botham walking for seven but Hick single-handedly saw them to victory with his 405 not out. In 555 minutes, he hit 11 sixes and 35 fours from 469 balls as Worcestershire declared on 628 for seven.

400 is big in any form of Cricket – remains to be seen whether Chinmay Sutar reaches bigger milestones and accomplishments in his career.

Regards – S Sampathkumar

19.10.2026