He runs a vada pav stall to earn his livelihood but meager means in his life could never stop him from realising his dream. As the one whose poor financial condition forced him to shift his base from Mumbai to Pune to sustain his cricketing career, the 24-year-old Virag Mare registered his name in the Guinness Book of World Records by having the longest batting net session on Thursday.
According to media reports, Mare batted for three days and two nights to break the record for the longest individual net session.
Playing at the Mahalaxmi Lawns in Karve Nagar, Mare commenced his net session on December 22, and faced 2,447 overs (14,682 balls), in exactly 50 hours, five minutes and 51 seconds.
The 24-year-old, who faced deliveries from both a bowler and a bowling machine, broke the previous record of 48 hours set by English duo Dave Newman and Richard Wells.
“I don’t have words to express my emotions. The reason why I am able to talk merely 2-3 hours after I broke the record is because I love this game. I had worked really hard to fulfill this dream,” he told The Indian Express.
“We had thought of crossing the 15,000-ball mark. But he was already very tired. It would have been wrong to stretch him beyond his limit,” said Ramdas Potale, his friend and organiser of the event.
Mare’s journey to the Guinness Book of World Records came after a hiccup eight years ago, when the then 16-year-old travelled to batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar’s legendary childhood coach Ramakant Achrekar’s academy in Mumbai, but as destiny had its say, Mare had to drop out due to his inability to pay the required fee.
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