'Sensational' Shardul Thakur hits terrific fifty in Ranji Trophy final to bail Mumbai out of trouble

India bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur yet again proved his worth with the bat as he played a sensational innings in the final of the Ranji Trophy 2023-24. The summit clash of the elite tournament is taking place between Mumbai and Vidarbha at the Wankhede Stadium.

Mumbai won the toss and were in deep trouble as they lost early wickets. Prithvi Shaw (46) played a decent hand at the top but after that, no one got going. The 41-time Ranji Trophy winners were struggling at 111/6 with all the big guns in the hut.

With the team tumbling in the big final, it was Shardul Thakur, who yet again stood tall for his team and made sure he played another valiant hand. The all-rounder batted with positive intent and made sure that he soaked in all the pressure and bailed his team out of trouble.

Shardul Thakur continued his golden touch with the bat as he played with complete control and made sure he took his team to the competitive total. He added vital partnerships with lower-order batters and made sure that Mumbai got the much-desired momentum.

Shardul Thakur first added 43 runs with Shams Mulani (13) and then added 22 runs with Tanush Kotian (8). Before adding 42 runs with Tushar Deshpande (14). He made sure that along with support from others, he took Mumbai past a total of 200 runs, which at the moment didn’t seem possible.

Shardul Thakur brought up his half-century in just 37 balls and made many stand and applaud him. He played an attacking innings that made Vidarbha bowlers think a lot. As he reached his half-century he made the entire Mumbai dressing room give him a standing ovation for his heroics.

Shardul Thakur ended with an innings of 75 runs off 69 balls. He batted with a strike rate of over 108 and also hit 8 fours and 3 sixes in his innings. His knock powered Mumbai to a total of 223 runs and gave bowlers something to fight with.

Shardul Thakur came as a rescuer for Mumbai in the semi-final against Tamil Nadu as well. He bailed Mumbai out of trouble when they were left tottering at 106/7. He scored 109 runs in 105 balls. He hit 13 fours and 4 sixes in his innings.

Shardul Thakur takes Mumbai off the flier with the ball

After his heroics with the bat, Shardul Thakur made sure that he took his team off the flier with the ball. He opened the attack for Mumbai with the ball and didn’t take long to make an impact as he removed Vidarbha opener Dhruv Shorey for a three-ball duck.

Shardul Thakur bowled a length ball that shaped in from the outside off. The batter leaned ahead to counter it but got beaten on the inside edge. The ball struck him on the front pad. The umpire didn’t term it out but skipper Ajinkya Rahane opted for DRS and the ball tracker showed three reds.

Shardul Thakur would be hoping to chip in with more wickets for the team and help them get in a commanding position and win the title for the 42nd time.