Chinmay Sutar becomes the second Indian to score 400 in a first-class innings

Chinmay Sutar batted into a second day in Sovima to finish unbeaten on 400, a score only one Indian has ever bettered in first-class cricket

Mizoram declared their first innings on 581 for 9 from 154.1 overs against Nagaland on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Plate Group match, with Sutar still at the crease on 400 not out.

The 29-year-old faced 517 balls and hit 46 fours and seven sixes, figures published by BCCI Domestic, in an innings that began on the opening morning and ended only when his captain called him in.

Nagaland had chosen to field at the Nagaland Cricket Stadium, Sovima, and were still in the field late on the second afternoon.

An innings that spanned two days

Sutar was 180 not out at stumps on day one, when Mizoram closed on 331 for 5 and Neizekho Rupreo had taken 2-63.

He reached his triple hundred from 364 balls and was unbeaten on 318 at lunch on the second day, having added a further 138 runs in the morning session alone.

The last 82 runs came after the interval, before Mizoram closed the innings with him 43 short of the highest first-class score by an Indian.

Only Nimbalkar has gone further

The only Indian to pass 400 in a first-class innings is Bhausaheb Nimbalkar, whose 443 not out for Maharashtra against Kathiawar at Pune in 1948-49 remains the national record and the fourth-highest score in the history of the game.

Sutar is the second batter to reach 400 in the Ranji Trophy's 92 seasons, and joins a list of ten innings of 400 or more in first-class cricket headed by Brian Lara's 501 not out for Warwickshire in 1994.

Hanif Mohammad's 499, Don Bradman's 452 not out and Sam Northeast's 410 not out for Glamorgan in 2022 are among the others above him.

No Indian had reached 400 in the 78 years since Nimbalkar's innings, a period covering every Ranji Trophy season played on either side of independence.

An innings built almost alone

Sutar made 400 of his side's 581, a shade under 69 per cent of the total, and the rest of the order offered little alongside him.

Wicketkeeper Jehu Anderson made 69 from 151 balls and Lalhruaizela 31; six Mizoram batters were dismissed in single figures.

The innings was extended by an unbroken last-wicket stand with Lalrempuia Chhakchhuak, worth 97 by the time Mizoram reached 489 for 9 and still unbroken more than 90 runs later at the declaration.

Nagaland begin badly in reply

Nagaland lost Aloto Sumi, lbw to Khiangte Vanrotlinga, inside the first two overs of their reply.

They have two days to save a match in which they have already spent more than 154 overs in the field, and the fixture runs to 21 October.

Mizoram and Nagaland are both Plate Group sides, where the gap between a strong batting day and a weak one is often wider than in the Elite groups.

A guest professional in the Plate group

Sutar, born in May 1997, was turning out for Mizoram as a guest player, the route by which the Plate sides recruit experienced professionals from outside the state.

He was named in India's squad for the 2019 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup and made his List A debut against Nepal that November, scoring a century in only his third match in the format, against Hong Kong.

His previous first-class work had brought nothing on this scale, and the innings now stands as the highest score of the 2026-27 Ranji Trophy season by a distance.

Nothing in a career spent largely on the margins of Indian domestic cricket had hinted at a day like this one.

Scorecard: Mizoram 581 for 9 declared in 154.1 overs (Chinmay Sutar 400 not out, Jehu Anderson 69) v Nagaland, Plate Group, Nagaland Cricket Stadium, Sovima, day two.

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