Mumbai Bowler Shardul Thakur Takes Hat-Trick, Becomes Fifth to Do So in Ranji Trophy
Mumbai, 30th January 2025: On Thursday, January 30, Indian cricketer Shardul Thakur made history by taking a hat-trick for Mumbai in the ongoing 2024-25 Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match against Meghalaya at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy in BKC, Mumbai. The 33-year-old fast bowler, who has played 11 Tests for India, achieved the feat by dismissing three Meghalaya batsmen off the last three balls of his second over.
Thakur becomes the fifth Mumbai/Bombay bowler to take a hat-trick in the Ranji Trophy, following in the footsteps of Royston Dias, who achieved the same during the 2023-24 season.
Here are the Mumbai bowlers to take a hat-trick in the Ranji Trophy:
– Jehangir Khot: Bombay vs Baroda at Brabourne Stadium (1943-44)
– Umesh Kulkarni: Bombay vs Gujarat at Shastri Maidan (1963-64)
– AM Ismail: Bombay vs Saurashtra at Brabourne Stadium (1973-74)
– Royston Dias: Mumbai vs Bihar at Moin-ul-Haq Stadium (2023-24)
– Shardul Thakur: Mumbai vs Meghalaya at BKC Ground (2024-25)
Thakur started his spell by dismissing Nishanta Chakraborty on the fourth ball of the match and followed up by removing Balchander Anirudh in his second over, leaving Anirudh with a duck off three balls. Thakur then claimed Sumit Kumar for a golden duck on the very next ball, both players being caught by Shams Mulani. He completed his hat-trick by bowling out Jaskirat Singh, who was also dismissed for a golden duck.
This remarkable spell left Meghalaya struggling at 2 for 5 after three overs.
Thakur’s new-ball partner, Mohit Avasthi, also impressed, taking two wickets in the match. He dismissed Kishan Lyngdoh for a duck and followed up by clean-bowling Arpit Subash Bhatewara on his next delivery.
Mumbai, with 42 Ranji Trophy titles, faces a crucial must-win match against Meghalaya. Thakur has been in stellar form lately. In his previous Ranji Trophy match against Jammu and Kashmir, he top-scored for Mumbai in both innings, with 51 runs in the first innings and an impressive 119 runs in the second innings. However, despite his all-round performance, Mumbai suffered a surprising five-wicket loss to Jammu and Kashmir.
