Shardul Thakur does a Glenn Maxwell, fights cramps to play a knock for the ages in Ranji Trophy

Shardul Thakur, on Friday (January 24), came up with one of the bravest knocks in the history of Ranji Trophy as he rescued Mumbai in their crucial clash with Jammu and Kashmir at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy BKC, Mumbai.

Mumbai had their back against the wall when Shardul Thakur walked out to bat. After conceding an 86-run lead in the first innings, Mumbai were reeling at 91 for 6 in the second innings when the allrounder joined captain Ajinkya Rahane in the middle.

Mumbai were off to a good start in the second innings with India stars Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal adding 54 runs for the opening wicket. However, once the partnership was broken, the floodgates opened. In no time, Mumbai found themselves 3 down for 57 before being reduced to 91 for 6.

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Shardul Thakur rescues Mumbai:

The onus was on Ajinkya Rahane and Shardul Thakur to rescue Mumbai. However, Jammu and Kashmir further bolstered their position in the game after Umar Nazir dismissed Rahane for 16 to leave Mumbai reeling at 101 for 7.

Mumbai were staring down the barrel at that stage and were looking destined to suffer a humiliating loss. However, Shardul Thakur was not done yet. The out-of-favor India allrounder launched a stunning counterassault on Jammu and Kashmir bowlers and went on to score a century to revive his team's chances.

What makes his knock even more special is that he played it while fighting severe cramps. At one stage, it looked like he would not even be able to carry on. However, the Mumbai star channeled his inner Glenn Maxwell and went on to smash a memorable ton.

He completed the century off just 105 balls with the help of 15 boundaries. When Shardul Thakur completed his century, Mumbai were on 250/7 with their lead extended to 164 runs. In Tanush Kotian, Thakur also found a reliable partner. At the time of writing this report, Kotian was batting on 53.

Watch as Shardul Thakur completes his century against Jammu and Kashmir:

💯 for Shardul Thakur 🙌🙌

A crucial knock under pressure 👏

The celebrations say it all 👌#RanjiTrophy | @IDFCFIRSTBank

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/oYXDhqotjO pic.twitter.com/o3XQIjzRAH

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) January 24, 2025

The moment when Shardul Thakur reached and felt ecstatic after reaching his century..battling on despite severe cramps..one of the best, bravest knocks u will ever see in domestic 🏏 #ranjitrophy2025 pic.twitter.com/lPOqMffJ3k

— Gaurav Gupta (@toi_gauravG) January 24, 2025

Thakur had impressed with the bat in the first innings as well. Mumbai were reeling at 42/6 in the first innings when he walked out to bat and went on to score a fighting fifty to guide his team to a respectable total. He eventually scored 51 runs off 57 balls. With the ball, Thakur picked up 2 wickets.

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