VHT: Captain Shardul Thakur dismantles Nagaland with 28-ball 73*
What's the story
Mumbai's cricket team, under the captaincy of Shardul Thakur, posted an gigantic score in the fifth round of the Vijay Hazare Trophy tournament against Nagaland.
The match witnessed Thakur stepping up in the absence of Shreyas Iyer and going berserk with the bat. He played a breathtaking knock of 73* runs.
Despite losing the toss and being asked to bat first by Nagaland, Mumbai made them regret the decision by scoring a mammoth 403/7 in 50 overs.
Opening partnership
Mahatre's 181-run knock powers Mumbai
Mumbai's openers, Ayush Mahatre and Angkrish Raghuvanshi, gave a solid start with a 156-run first-wicket partnership.
After Raghuvanshi was dismissed for 56 runs, Mahatre carried on the aggressive batting.
He scored a brilliant 181 runs off just 117 balls, smashing 11 sixes and 15 fours.
This set the tone for Mumbai's mammoth total against Nagaland.
Captain's knock
Thakur's 73-run blitz boosts Mumbai's total
After the dismissals of Siddhesh Lad (39) and Prasad Panwar (38), captain Thakur unleashed a storm from the lower order.
He scpred an unbeaten 73 off just 28 balls, hitting eight sixes and two fours.
Thakur's contribution proved instrumental in taking Mumbai's total to over 400 runs against Nagaland.
Leadership role
Thakur's captaincy in Iyer's absence
Thakur donned the captaincy hat for Mumbai in this match, his second time leading the side this season.
He had led the team in their match of the season, against Arunachal Pradesh, which ended in a win for Mumbai.
Regular captain Shreyas Iyer was rested for the match against Nagaland, but his absence didn't stop Mumbai from posting a daunting total.
Stats
Here are Thakur's List A numbers
As per ESPNcricinfo, this was Thakur's fourth fifty in List A cricket as he has raced to 982 runs across 116 games at an average of around 19. His strike rate is over 107.
His tally also includes 174 wickets at 28.17.
In the ongoing season, the 33-year-old has managed 116 runs at a phenomenal strike rate of 154.66.
However, he could scalp only three wickets in his preceding four outings.