“Obviously it is a very proud and happy feeling. I didn’t know so many records were broken until I came. It is a record partnership and a record individual (highest) score for Maharashtra (by a captain). Yeah it is a good feeling,” said Swapnil Gugale, the Maharashtra skipper who scored 351 in a record 594-run unbroken stand with Ankit Bawne (258*) against Delhi in the ongoing Ranji Trophy match against Delhi at the Wankhede stadium when asked about the marathon partnership. His innings is now the third highest by a captain in India’s domestic cricket, behind Sanjay Manjrekar’s 377. The duo’s partnership was just 30 runs short of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene’s record 624-run stand which came against South Africa and therefore is now the second-highest partnership in first-class cricket. The pair weren’t aware of the record when the innings was declared said the captain when asked later. Speaking about the declaration on 635 for two he said, “We had a plan of scoring around 620 odd runs and then declaring so that was the only thing on the mind. Records and all were not on the mind. We were not aware of anything. We came to know later when I came inside.” “The only record I knew about was that of the highest partnership of 500-odd (577 in Ranji Trophy between Vijay Hazare and Gul Mohammed’s for the fourth wicket, for Baroda versus Holkar in 1946-47),” he mentioned, while adding, “We had a plan that we have to give them a few overs to play and we had a certain amount of time after which we had to declare. Our target was achieved. We had a plan in the morning itself that we have to score 620 odd runs and then give them some time to bat no matter what the time is.” Speaking about his batting, Gugale said, “My grip was changed. (Shrikant) Kalyani sir is our coach this year. He just told me to bend down a little bit, as I was standing little more upright. There are few minor changes and it was moulded that way. We just practiced on that.” Bawne, who complemented the captain with a chanceless inning said, “For me now it’s been like three times I have got out for 90s at the Wankhede. It was my dream to score a hundred here. I kept myself motivated ‘ki bhai sauh karna hai’ (that I have to make a hundred). After that, as the wicket was beautiful to bat I thought ‘bada kyon nahi yaar. Khelte hain, dekhte hain. Bas batting karta gaya aaur results samne hai,(have to score big and kept on batting and the results are there to see)” while talking about his knock. “Fielders were behind, so there was no point in playing big shots. After one point they were also down in humid conditions. It was an advantage for both of us. Every over we were getting four to five runs and were able to rotate the strike,” he added while talking about his risk free knock. Discussing the partnership and planning, Gugale said, “We had planned (to go) session to session. Obviously we spoke at drinks break in each session to assess the situation and decide whether to accelerate or not. In the first session we got 110 runs, so our work was set for the day. We had got the start.” “There were times when I was not able to run singles. He was like we have to focus and make it bigger. Yesterday also we were talking about it, and yesterday we were pushing each other that we are not to stop because a situation like this might not come again, and if we back each other then we can make history today. That’s what he said. Obviously we were telling each other ‘let’s make it happen, let’s make it happen, not lose focus’ If I or he played a wrong shot then we were making each other aware that there are lots of things to do now so let’s be patient’” he elaborated. Discussing the wicket, captain said, “Wicket is very good to bat on, but if we bowl in proper line and length tomorrow it will be very difficult for them. It is a huge total actually. As a batsman, noticing 600 runs on the scoreboard, it is always on the back of the mind. Even if you are playing, you obviously have to score at a proper rate and that’s not easy on this track. It is a third-day track, you never know when the ball might spin or bounce.” Bawne too echoed his captain’s assessment. “You cannot get a better wicket than this. Initially no one knew how the wicket will play, but we batted well. Then they also became a bowler short. Navdeep Saini didn’t bowl today, so they were also one bowler short,” he said. Speaking about the opposition and tiring them out, Bawane said, “After fielding for so long if someone plays 30 balls tomorrow they will say, I am tired. This is a patience game now. This happened with us before (2014-15 semifinal at Eden) when Tamil Nadu – Abhinav Mukund and M Vijay – batted against us. It was same situation. I know how it feels; I had played that game. It is a terrible feeling.”