BENGALURU: Between two Ranji Trophy finals, life has turned full circle for Prithvi Shaw, who is still only 22. Five seasons back, shepherded by Chandrakant Pandit - who was then Mumbai coach - the young turk announced his arrival in grand style, smashing a century (120) on his first-class debut in the Ranji Trophy semis against Tamil Nadu in Rajkot, followed by blistering knocks of 44 and 71 in the Ranji final defeat against Gujarat in Indore. It turned out to be Pandit's last match in charge of Mumbai.
Cut to June 22, 2022, and Shaw - eyeing his maiden Ranji title as Mumbai captain - will lead an exciting, young bunch in the final against MP, incidentally coached by Pandit. Since playing in his last Ranji final and his next, the opener has experienced quite a journey. He won the under-19 World Cup as captain, broke into the Indian Test team and scored a century on debut in Rajkot vs West Indies before injury and a form slump saw him out of the squad. In between, he captained Mumbai to the Vijay Hazare one-day title last year.
