Watch: Dropped from the Indian Test squad, Shardul Thakur took 6-21, his best figures in Ranji Trophy, to skittle out Assam for 84.
Shardul Thakur’s 31 Test wickets at 28.38 each are the fourth best among Indian fast bowlers with the same number of wickets. His strike rate of 47 was bettered only by Jasprit Bumrah.
Thakur has also scored 631 runs with 4 fifties, but of his 11 Test matches, only one has been at home (the first was in Hyderabad in 2018-19). (against West Indies). He walked away from there limping after throwing 10 pitches.
The first two Tests of India’s five-match home series made it clear that India’s second-fastest bowler was not bowling well enough, and replacing him with a seamer who could bat was a no-brainer. It might not be a bad idea. Although Thakur has played this role, he has not been named in the team yet.
He returned to the Ranji Trophy and scored 11 and 31 points against Chhattisgarh, but did not take a wicket. However, he came into his own in the second match against Assam, sharing the new ball with Mohit Avasti.
Thakur picked up his first wicket of the season when Parvej Musarraf chopped his wicket on the stumps. He then took one from wicketkeeper Sumit Gadigaonkar and passed it to wicketkeeper Hardik Tamoa. And he caught Dinesh Das off his own bowling.
He came back to wipe his tail. Kunal Sharma played a vast drive against Prithvi Shaw in the cordon. Sunil Rashit’s leg was trapped. Dibakar Joli was also clean when he missed a wild shot.
Assam scored the lowest total of 84 points against Mumbai. Thakur finished with 6 wins and 21 losses, his best score in the Ranji Trophy. He improved on his time of 6 minutes and 31 seconds against Bengal in the 2016/17 tournament.
As of this writing, Mumbai are 164-5 with Shivam Dube (63 points) and Shams Mulani (20 points) hitting the goalposts.
Watch Shardul Thakur claim 6-21 against Assam in the Ranji Trophy:
Shardul Special 🔥
10.1-0-21-6⃣@imShard recorded an amazing roll of 6⃣/2⃣1⃣ and contributed to Mumbai’s victory. The bowling to help Assam was bowled out for 84 in the first innings in Mumbai.
Relive the amazing magic 🔽@IDFCFIRSTBank | #RanjiTrophy Image. twitter.com/Qwrxs2kYkH
– BCCI Home (@BCCIdomestic) 1 2024 February 2
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