Sovima, Nagaland. The scoreboard at the Nagaland Cricket Stadium stopped making sense in the 155th over. Chinmay Sutar, playing just his second first-class match, crossed the 400-run mark. That single digit change erased Prithvi Shaw’s 379 and etched Sutar’s name into the rarefied air of Indian cricket history. He is now the second Indian ever to score a first-class four-hundreder, joining only BB Nimbalkar, who hit 443 not out in 1949.
The innings was a battle of attrition. Sutar faced 517 balls, chipping away at the bowling attack with 46 fours and seven sixes. He wasn't just batting; he was dismantling the opposition. By the time he reached the milestone, the rest of the Mizoram lineup had faded into the background. The next highest score was Jehu Anderson’s modest 69. Sutar didn’t just play the match; he swallowed it whole.
But the all-time record? That was close. Sutar was at 392 not out when the team declared at 581 for nine. Nimbalkar’s 443 not out remains the mountain to climb. The 29-year-old left 43 runs on the board, a testament to the sheer scale of the challenge. He shared an unbeaten 190-run partnership for the tenth wicket with Lalrempunia Chhakchhuak (14), a fitting end to a day that will be talked about in Mumbai dressing rooms for years.
This isn't a one-off fluke. Sutar, son of former Mumbai all-rounder Rajesh Sutar, has been a T20 machine. He won the Orange Cap in the 2025 T20 Mumbai League and scored crucial half-centuries for the Maratha Royals in their back-to-back titles. His first-class debut saw him run out for 99, but this performance proves he has the temperament for the long game. The 29-year-old has just announced himself as a force in domestic cricket.