On this day: The end of the longest innings in first-class cricket
There have been many individual and collective records that have been made and shattered in both Indian as well as global first-class cricket history over the years. Meanwhile, it was one of the lesser-known cricketers named Rajeev Nayyar who holds the record for spending the maximum time at the crease spanning 1015 minutes.
This record remains unbroken to date and it was on this very day in 1999 that Rajeev Nayyar’s longest innings in first-class cricket history came to an end. The then-emerging cricketer was leading Himachal Pradesh against Jammu & Kashmir in the 1999/00 season of the Ranji Trophy and he went on to shatter a 41-year-old record in the illustrious 200 years of first-class cricket.
Nayyar’s herculean innings started on November 1, 1999, and went on till the 3rd when he was eventually sent back to the pavilion after being bowled by Kavaljit Singh, but not before scoring an outstanding double century. He notched up 271 runs off 728 deliveries. The time spent by him at the crease was 1015 minutes and his knock included 26 fours and one six.
Meanwhile, Nayyar also became the first-ever player to bat for 1000 minutes in the history of all forms of cricket. More importantly, this innings helped Nayyar surpass the record which was previously held by Pakistan batting legend Hanif Mohammad. Hanif had batted for a duration of 970 minutes during his excellent 337-run knock against the West Indies in January 1958.
Talking about Nayyar’s batting record, he had come out to bat in the second hour of the morning session on Day 2. He had scored an unbeaten 89 by the end of that day’s play. Nayyar registered his half-century off 134 deliveries and it took him another 130 balls for breaching three figures.
He literally made the opposition bowlers toil hard as he registered his double century after facing 618 deliveries. It took him another 54 balls to score 250. Courtesy of his longest innings, the contest ended in a stalemate.
