Maharashtra are playing Jharkhand in Round Two of the Ranji Trophy 2026/27 at Pune. After bowling out the opposition on a below-par score, the hosts came out to bat. However, two of their mainstays, Prithvi Shaw and Ruturaj Gaikwad, batted in the lower middle-order.
After restricting Jharkhand to just 169 runs, Maharashtra got into a far more comfortable position when they got to bat in the second innings of the match.
Why did Prithvi Shaw, Ruturaj Gaikwad bat in lower middle-order?
Shockwaves ran through the cricketing fraternity when captain Prithvi Shaw didn't come out to bat, along with Sachin Dhas. Instead, all-rounder Vicky Ostwal opened the innings.
According to renowned journalist Amol Karhadkar of The Hindu, Shaw had to bat at number six as he had a fever on Day 1 of the Maharashtra vs Jharkhand clash.
“Prithvi Shaw walks in to bat at No. 6 for Maharashtra vs Jharkhand. Not by design but the captain had fever, so didn't bat on Day 1,” the journalist tweeted.
As Maharashtra lost three wickets on the first day, two of them were all-rounders; both Shaw and Ruturaj Gaikwad were slotted down in the batting order. Although there is no official statement, the move may have been aimed at keeping their dependable batters in reserve in case the team found itself in a difficult situation.
Ahead of the two international batters, Maharashtra batted the experienced Ankit Bawne at number 5.
Prithvi Shaw fails! Dijvijay Patil, Ankit Bawne go big for Maharashtra
That said, Prithvi Shaw and Ruturaj Gaikwad could not contribute much in the Maharashtra's first innings against Jharkhand. The captain fell to Manishi Singh for 21 off 25 balls.
Meanwhile, the chief architects were Dijvijay Patil and Ankit Bawne, both of them scoring cruical centuries. Patil missed on his 150 by just three runs, while Bawne slammed his second Ranji ton for the season.
Meanwhile, for Maharashtra, Gaikwad is still in the middle, racing towards a half-century in his maiden Ranji outing this season.
Maharashtra's lead has gone past 200 runs with five wickets still in hand, with over two days to go in the Round 2 fixture.
