By Ajit Bezbaruah
A carbon copy of his father Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Tagenarine Chanderpaul doesn’t just follow his batting style but also his steely determination to grind opposition to dust.
If you haven’t watched Tagenarine Chanderpaul bat, please switch on the telly on the tomorrow and witness the beginning of another golden chapter in West Indies cricket history. This boy is here to stay.
That his batting stance resembles a lot like his father Shivnarine Chanderpaul and is not just a con-incidence, Daddy Dear has done well to produce one more tormentor of opposition like the father had done during his days.
The open stance that Shiv was known for, Tagenarine brings that unorthodox stance back to the game, then with his drive, the cut, the pull and the front foot defensive stroke coming all the way from short-leg tend to take you back in time only to be brought back to the present by some of the experts while explaining their stances found out that Shiv’s feat comes more in line of the ball than Tagenarine whose right foot stays rooted outside the line of the ball.
But, nonetheless, he made an unbeaten double hundred against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club as 10th batter from West Indies to score his maiden double ton and put West Indies in a very strong position to declare at 447 for the loss of six wickets.
In what is his third Test after making his debut against Australia Down Under at Perth last November, he showed grit and determination to bring up his maiden hundred and then go all the way to turn it into a double. Tagenarine, along with Kraigg Brathwaite wrote and rewrote many records during their record 336-run first wicket stand.
They established a new opening stand eclipsing the previous best of 298 between Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes against England in 1990. The Greenidge-Haynes pair scored 296 against India in 1983 and after that Sherwin Campbell and Adrian Griffith scored 276 against New Zealand in 1999. The partnership was also the ninth highest-ever Test opening stand and the first in excess of 300 in nearly a decade.
For the first time both openers scored 150 plus runs for the West Indies. Their opening stand of 114.1 overs is only the second to Sri Lankan openers Marvan Atapattu and Sanath Jayasuriya’s 335 runs in 114.2 overs stay at the wicket. Tagenarine’s unbeaten 207 off 467 balls is the 10th maiden double century by a West Indies batter.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul scored his maiden Test century after three years, whereas Tagenarine Chanderpaul scored a double century in less than 3 months. This is the first father-son duo to score double centuries for West Indies and only second in the world after Hanif Mohammad and Shoaib Mohammad of Pakistan.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul scored 203 not out from 370 balls with 23 fours in 541 minutes. Tagnarine Chanderpaul scored 207 not out as maiden century from 467 balls in 596 minutes with 16 fours and three sixes.