Ranji Trophy: Shardul Thakur claims 6/21, completes 250 FC wickets
What's the story
Shardul Thakur was the pick of the bowlers for Mumbai on Day 1 against Assam in the 2024 Ranji Trophy.
The experienced pacer registered his 14th five-wicket haul in First-Class cricket.
He ran past the Assam batting order, claiming 6/21 from only 10.1 overs as Assam were bundled out for a paltry 84 runs in the first innings.
Here we decode his stats.
Spell
A devastating spell from Thakur
Thakur made the new ball talk and it caused a lot of problems for the Assam batters. He removed Parvez Musaraf and Sumit Ghadigaonkar in successive overs with the new cherry.
He later came back to dismiss Assam skipper Denish Das, reducing the visitors to 20/4.
Thakur also returned with wickets of Kunal Sarma, Sunil Lachit and Dibakar Johori to complete his 6/21.
Wickets
Thakur has completed 250 wickets in First-Class cricket
With his third wicket, Thakur accomplished 250 scalps in First-Class cricket. He reached the milestone in 79 matches.
Besides 14 fifers, he also owns 11 four-wicket hauls in red-ball cricket.
Thakur has featured in 11 Test matches for India, returning with 31 wickets at an average of 28.38. He has claimed a solitary Test fifer. He made his Test debut in 2018.
Injury
Thakur was out with an ankle injury
The experienced pacer missed out on a large chunk of the 2024 Ranji Trophy due to an ankle injury that he suffered during India's tour of South Africa.
However, Thakur returned to action for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy clash against Chhattisgarh last week.
Thakur will have a big role to play for Mumbai in the knockout rounds of the Ranji Trophy this season.
Career
A look at his overall First-Class numbers
Playing his 79th FC match, Thakur has raced to 253 wickets at an average below 29. As mentioned, this was his 14th fifer in red-ball cricket.
Thakur has scored some handy runs in FC cricket. He owns 1,736 runs in this format, slamming 11 fifties.
He has claimed 31 Test wickets for India in 11 Tests while scoring 331 runs (50s: 4).
Summary
How has the match proceeded?
Assam were on the back foot early on courtesy of a brilliant spell from Thakur. They were reduced to 20/4 in the first ten overs.
Saahil Jain and Abhishek Thakuri added a 30-run partnership but failed to resist the collapse. Eventually, Assam lost their last five wickets for 34 runs (84/10).
While Thakur starred with 6/21, Shams Mulani also returned with figures of 2/8.