Ranji Trophy: Gohel didn't know he broke 117-year-old record!

AHMEDABAD: As Gujarat opener Samit Gohel returned to the pavilion after his monumental knock of 359 in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals against Odisha, he was unaware he had secured a place in the game's history. He had just shattered a 117-year-old record in first-class cricket by notching up the highest score while carrying the bat through the innings.

"I had no idea about the record until coach

Vijay Patel

told me. But, in a way, it was good as it meant I was not under pressure at any stage and that probably helped me reach the milestone," the 26-year-old Gohel told TOI just before his flight took off from Jaipur on Tuesday evening.

The Anand boy's 723-ball knock was better than the previous best of unbeaten 357 by Surrey's Bobby Abel against Somerset at the Kensington Oval ground, England, way back in 1899.

During the innings, Gohel reached a host of personal milestones. He cracked his maiden Ranji triple ton and became the highest scorer this Ranji season. He overtook Maharashtra's

Swapnil Gugale

's score of 351 not out. Also, his knock against Odisha made him the highest scorer for Gujarat in Ranji Trophy. He surpassed Priyank Panchal's 314 not out against Punjab this year. His mammoth 964-minute stay at the crease helped Gujarat score their highest-ever total (641) in Ranji. They went past the score of 640 made against Maharashtra in 1995-96.

His father

Bhanubhai Patel

, a small-time real estate dealer in Gujarat's Anand district, has lent all the help to his son to chase his dreams.

Gohel made it to the

Gujarat Ranji

team after a consistent performance for Gujarat U-23 team. He, however, struggled to replicate his U-23 form at the senior level initially.

He made his Ranji debut in 2012 against Railways in Bhubaneswar and has so far played 28 first-class matches. His maiden first-class century came in 2013-14 against Punjab in Mohali when he scored an unbeaten 102.

Despite a none-too-impressive beginning, Gohel kept working on his mental strength and ironed out a few technical flaws before the start of this season and it produced the desired results. "Skipper Parthiv bhai helped me change my mindset. He advised me to bring positive intent to my game. That has worked wonders for me," Gohel said. He has scored 822 runs at 74.72 in eight matches this season. Though known as a dour, defensive-minded batsman, Gohel has just started playing shots after settling down.