New Delhi: Mumbai all-rounder Shardul Thakur smashed a brilliant fifty and rescued his team on Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy Round 6 clash against Jammu and Kashmir at the BKC Ground in Mumbai on Thursday, January 23. He scored 51 runs off 57 balls with the help of two maximums and five boundaries.
Mumbai got off to a horrific start after electing to bat first as openers Yashasvi Jaiswal (4) and Rohit Sharma (3) were dismissed cheaply. Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer and Shivam Dube also failed to make any big contribution with the bat for the team.
But Shardul and Tanush Kotian stitched an important 63-run partnership for the eighth wicket and rescued the team from 47/4 to 110/8. Mumbai got bowled out for 120 runs as the star-studded batting line-up struggled to score runs.
In reply, J&K lost seven wickets for 174 runs at stumps on Day 1. Shubham Khajuria scored a gritty fifty and Abid Mushtaq also scored 44 runs. Mohit Awasthi picked up three wickets for Mumbai and Shams Mulani took two wickets while Shardul and Dube also picked up one wicket each.
‘If someone has quality, he should be given more chances’: Shardul Thakur
Shardul Thakur has been out of the Indian squad since December 2023. The all-rounder was ignored by the selectors during the Test series against Bangladesh, New Zealand and Australia. He also received a massive setback in the IPL mega auction last December when he went unsold.
He spoke to the media on Thursday and said that if any player has quality, he should be given more chances. Shardul further added that he likes batting in difficult situations as everyone does well in easy situations.
“What can I talk about my quality? Others should talk about it. They should see that if someone has quality, he should be given more chances. I see tough situations as a challenge and always think about how to overcome that challenge” Thakur told the media. He also said that as a player you have to forget about what happened in the past as it’s not going to change and it is important to live in present.
Shardul Thakur scored a gritty fifty on Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy Round 6 fixture against Jammu and Kashmir at the BKC Ground in Mumbai on Thursday, January 23. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
