Sheldon Jackson, Saurashtra’s middle-order batter, reached a milestone in the ongoing second semi-final of the Ranji Trophy 2022-23 against Karnataka on Friday, when he slammed his first century of the tournament. This achievement came on Day 3 post-lunch, with Jackson bringing up his hundred in 143 deliveries. This century was also his 20th in First-Class cricket, and pushed his runs in First-Class cricket past the 6,500 mark.
Clutch Century Lifts Saurashtra in Ranji Trophy
The right-handed batter was a clutch player for Saurashtra, as his century helped the team reach 200 in their first innings. Jackson, who was previously struggling with form, has now scored three fifties in the tournament, with scores of 18, 21, 19, 1, 64, 24, and 59. Despite his earlier poor performance, he has still managed to score over 450 runs in the tournament.
Jackson has been a prolific performer for Saurashtra in the past, having been the leading run-scorer for the team during the group stage of the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy, with 613 runs in eight matches. However, he moved to Puducherry in July 2020 ahead of the 2020-21 Ranji Trophy, only to return to Saurashtra the following season and compile 313 runs in the tournament at a high average of 78.25.
Sheldon Jackson’s First-Class Career Statistics
Throughout his First-Class career, Jackson has played in 89 matches, amassing 6,500-plus runs and 20 hundreds. He has also hit 35 fifties, with a highest score of 186. In List A cricket, he has scored 2,643 runs, while in T20 cricket he has amassed 1,690 runs.
In the ongoing match against Karnataka, the visiting team was struggling at 112/5, but skipper Mayank Agarwal and Srinivas Sharath put up a fight, compiling 407/10. Chetan Sakariya took the best figures for Saurashtra with 3/73. Despite early setbacks, Jackson and Arpit Vasavada have now put Saurashtra on top, adding over 100 runs for the fourth wicket and pushing the 2019-20 winners past 220.
