Vidarbha’s rising star Danish Malewar etched his name in the history books on Friday, becoming the first Indian in 81 years to retire out after scoring a double century. The last Indian to do so was the legendary Vijay Merchant, who retired out on 201 for the Cricket Club of India against Services XI in 1944.
Malewar’s Brilliant Knock
Playing for Central Zone in the ongoing Duleep Trophy, Malewar struck a fluent 203 runs against North East Zone. He shared crucial partnerships of 139 runs with Aryan Juyal (60) and 199 runs with stand-in skipper Rajat Patidar (125).
Day one ended prematurely due to bad light and rain, with Malewar unbeaten on 198. When play resumed, he brought up his maiden double century in professional cricket with a boundary in the very first over. Soon after reaching the milestone, he retired out, allowing Madhya Pradesh all-rounder Subham Sharma to take the crease.
Rare Instance in Cricket
Retiring out is an unusual event in cricket, and doing so after a double hundred is even rarer. The last such instance worldwide came in 2005, when New Zealand opener Craig Spearman retired out on 200+ for Gloucestershire.
Other notable names on the exclusive list include:
- Gogumal Kishenchand – 204 for CK Nayudu’s XI vs DB Deodhar’s XI (1943-44)
- Aravinda de Silva – 202 for Sri Lankans vs Mashonaland (1994-95)
- Marvan Atapattu – 201 for Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh (2001-02)
Indian Context
In Indian first-class cricket, the last players to retire out were KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja in a 2021 warm-up game against a County Select XI. Earlier, Manoj Mudgal did so during the 1996-97 Ranji Trophy. The most recent visiting players to retire out on Indian soil were Steve Smith and Shaun Marsh in 2016-17.
Central Zone in Command
Thanks to Malewar’s heroics, Patidar’s century, and fifties from Aryan Juyal and Yash Rathod, Central Zone declared their innings at a massive 532/4, putting themselves in a commanding position.
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