Prakhar Chaturvedi, a teenage cricketer from Karnataka, performed a Brian Lara-like feat in the Cooch Behar Trophy final against Mumbai at the KSCA Navule Stadium in Shimoga. In the championship match of the esteemed U-19 domestic four-day competition, Prakhar Chaturvedi made history by becoming the first cricketer to score 400 or more.
With a knock that included 46 fours and 3 sixes, Prakhar Chaturvedi helped Karnataka secure the lead in the first innings and ultimately the championship. The young opener faced more than 100 overs by himself and finished unbeaten on 404 off 638 balls, forcing the Mumbai bowlers to work very hard over the past two days.
In the Cooch Behar Trophy final, Harishil Dharmani scored 169 and Karthikeya KP scored 72, offering Prakhar, who batted first, a strong platform for a record-breaking innings.
Samit Dravid, the son of Rahul Dravid, competed for Karnataka in the final as well. In the championship game, the senior men’s team head coach’s son scored 22 runs off of 46 balls.
Prem Devkar took three wickets for Mumbai, but he had to work hard for them—he bowled thirty overs and gave up 136 runs. With Akash Paawar and Mannan Bhatt bowling 45 and 47 overs, respectively, each of the six Mumbai bowlers bowled at least 20 overs.
Earlier, after Karnataka won the toss and opted to field, Ayush Mhatre scored 145, Mumbai managed to score 380 in the first innings.
Samit Dravid claimed two wickets in his allotted 19 overs, while Hardik Raj led Karnataka in wickets taken with four.
Since its establishment in the 1945–46 season, the Cooch Behar Trophy—named after the Maharaja of Cooch Behar—has served as a mainstay of Indian domestic cricket. It was an under-19 competition the next season after being a school competition until 1986–1987.
The Cooch Behar Trophy has been crucial in identifying and developing young cricket players around the country by giving them a stage on which to demonstrate their skills and possibly open doors to advancement in the game. Live coverage of the 2024 final, which featured an incredible innings from Prakar Chaturvedi, gave cricket fans a chance to see the ascent of a possible future star in Indian cricket.