SMAT 2024: Shardul Thakur claims career-best T20 figures
Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) pacer Shardul Thakur produced an incredible spell in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024. The Mumbai bowler showcased his brilliant skills against Services at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Although CSK released Thakur before the Indian Premier League 2025 auction, he showed his worth with a career-best 4/25. Here are his stats.
Thakur's early breakthroughs put Mumbai in control
Thakur's brilliant bowling effort meant Services were restricted to 153/10 in a chase of 193. He sent Nitin Tanwar back in the first over and continued his wicket-taking spree by sending Kunwar Pathak and Vineet Dhankhar in his second over. Gaurav Kochar was his final victim as the Services were reduced to 34/4. Thakur ended his spell with 4/25 from four overs. His figures at the end of the powerplay overs read 3/8 from eight overs.
Thakur's performance a reminder to IPL franchises
Thakur's stellar performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy reminds IPL franchises of what he can do. Not retained by CSK for the 2025 season after an underwhelming IPL 2024, and ignored by other franchises at the auction, Thakur has shown his worth on the domestic circuit. Meanwhile, his returns in the other games of this season read 3/12, 1/69, 2/50, 1/43. Hence, he has raced to 11 wickets across five matches.
Third T20 four-fer for Shardul
As mentioned, 4/25 are now Shardul's best T20 figures as this was his third four-wicket haul in the format, as per ESPNcricinfo. Overall, the pacer has raced to 185 wickets across 164 T20 matches, averaging around 27. His economy of over 8.8 is on the higher side. In 95 IPL games, Shardul owns 94 scalps at 30.52. He has one four-wicket haul under his belt.
SKY and Dube powered MI
Earlier in the game, Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube played remarkable knocks to power Mumbai in the first innings. The former scored a brisk half-46-ball 70 as Mumbai posted 192/4 in their 20 overs. He added a 130-run stand with Dube, who made a quickfire 35-ball 71*. Their brilliance meant Mumbai posted a strong total and later won by 39 runs.
