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India's fast bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur came to Mumbai's rescue after big names Prithvi Shaw, skipper Ajinkya Rahane and Shreyas Iyer failed against Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy 2023-24 semifinal. Thakur smashed his career’s maiden first-class hundred after Mumbai were reduced to 106/7.
Thakur walked in to bat in the second session of Day 2. Tamil Nadu skipper Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore struck twice in the 48th over with the wicket of teenage batting sensation Musheer Khan and Shams Mulani. Musheer scored 55 runs from 131 balls including six fours whereas Mulani bagged a two-ball duck.
Thakur comes to the rescue
When the seventh wicket fell, Mumbai were still trailing by 40 runs. In Kishore's next over, Thakur hit two fours. He gave a similar treatment to Ajith Ram. In the next over, he hit the first six of his innings. Hardik Tamore played sensibly and picked bad balls to hit a few boundaries. Thakur reached his half-century with a six off Ajith Ram. Kishore returned to attack and dismissed Tamore who scored 35 runs from 92 balls. They shared a 105-run partnership for the eighth wicket.
Thakur’s massive milestone
Tanush Kotian did not hold back and hit a few boundaries as well. Thakur took on Sai Kishore once again hitting him for a six and two fours. In the 81st over, Thakur attacked Ajith Ram again. He hit a six to reach his maiden hundred. He took 90 deliveries to reach the milestone. His previous best was 87 in red-ball cricket. The 32-year-old was dismissed by Kuldeep Sen. He scored 109 runs from 105 balls including 13 fours and four sixes.
Rahane, Iyer fell cheaply
Earlier, Mumbai's middle-order suffered a batting collapse. After the nightwatchman Mohit Avasthi's dismissal, Rahane lost his wicket to Sai Kishore. Making his comeback after getting dropped from the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) annual retainership list of centrally contracted players, Iyer got bowled by Sandeep Warrier for a single-digit score.
Kotian's good form continues
After Thakur and Kotian shared an 89-run partnership, the latter continued to hit big and got support from Tushar Deshpande. The duo who smashed centuries in the quarter-final shared an unbeaten 63-run partnership. Kotian remained unbeaten for 74 off 109 balls including 10 fours. Deshpande scored 17 runs from 35 balls. Mumbai were 353/9 at the end of Day 2's play with a 207-run lead in the bag.
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