Chandigarh batsman Arslan Khan opens first-class career with Ranji Trophy double-century

The 20-year-old made an unbeaten 233 from just 236 balls against Arunachal Pradesh to become his team's maiden first-class centurion

Left-handed batsman Arslan Khan has reached a double-century in his maiden senior innings to open Chandigarh's inaugural Ranji Trophy campaign in style.

Khan, 20, is just the 20th player to register a double-century on first-class debut, and he had reached an unbeaten 233 from 236 balls before his side declared on 503 for 2, with a first-innings lead of 356 over Arunachal Pradesh.

After opening the innings with a partnership of 220 alongside fellow debutant Shivam Bhambri, who scored 105 from 91 deliveries, Khan then put on a further 173 alongside captain Manan Vohra, who has collected 49 IPL caps to date and was recently retained by Rajasthan Royals for next year's edition of the tournament.

Vohra was eventually dismissed for 124, with his 82-ball innings including 22 boundaries, and his side ended the second day's play just four wickets away from securing a remarkable victory at the Sector 16 Stadium.

"When I was handed the cap by [wicketkeeper] Uday Kaul, I was a bit emotional as it was the first time I was wearing the Chandigarh senior team cap," Khan told Indian Express.

"Players like Uday Kaul, Bipul Sharma and skipper Manan Vohra always boost confidence of a youngster like me.

"It feels special to become Chandigarh's first centurion in Ranji Trophy. The wicket was good for batting and I wanted to utilise my chance.

"My father's tailoring showroom is about 500 metres from here in Sector 17 and my elder brother and some of the workers too had come to watch the match. I am glad I scored a century in front of them."

Soaked in the atmosphere had splendid time watching the #RanjiTrophy match between @UTCACH Chandigarh Men Senior team & Arunachal Pradesh today at Sec-16, #Cricket Stadium.
Congratulated Arslan Khan of #UTCA #Chandigarh team for double centuries in his debut match. @BCCI #BCCI pic.twitter.com/bY6DLDcvXT

— Sanjay Tandon 🇮🇳 (@SanjayTandonBJP) December 10, 2019

Despite being established in 1980, Chandigarh's Union Territory Cricket Association only obtained formal affiliation with the BCCI in July this year.

This has allowed the city's team to participate in India's full domestic competitions for the first time in the 2019-20 season, although its 30,000-seater Sector 16 Stadium had previously hosted one Test match and seven ODIs between 1985 and 2007. 

In previous years, players from the region had to represent neighbouring sides in professional competitions – Khan had turned out for Himachal Pradesh's under-23 side in previous seasons, while Chandigarh-born allrounder Yuvraj Singh represented Punjab during his domestic career. 

Khan had earned selection for Chandigarh's 15-man Ranji Trophy squad, coached by former India seamer VRV Singh, after scoring five centuries in 11 matches for the city's under-23 outfit in a 50-over tournament last month.

^{Picture: Sanjay Tandon/Twitter}

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