Mumbai all-rounder Shardul Thakur demolished Meghalaya's top order in the Ranji Trophy, bagging a hat-trick with the new ball in Mumbai.
Thakur, currently out of the Indian squads across all formats, scored a century from No.8 in the previous game, before wrecking Meghalaya's top order at the Bandra Kurla Complex on January 30 (Thursday). With Mumbai having opted to field, Thakur, along with opening partner Mohit Avasthi, took out Meghalaya's top six with just two runs on the board.
Shardul Thakur claims a hat-trick
At one point, Meghalaya looked in serious danger of crumbling to an all-time Ranji Trophy low, with Thakur on figures of 3-2-1-4. The top six consisted of five ducks, with Thakur completing a hat-trick in his third over. Only wicketkeeper-opener Arpit Subhas managed to get any runs off the bat among the top six batters.
Match Match 119, Mumbai vs Meghalaya
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- Ball by ball Over
It became four wickets in a row for Meghalaya, when Avasthi sent back Subhas: there was a temporary respite thereafter, as the seventh-wicket pairing became the first in the lineup to cross 10 balls, also taking Meghalaya into double-digits.
Out of his first 24 deliveries, Thakur sent down 22 dots. Thakur's was the fifth instance of a Mumbai bowler claiming a hat-trick in the Ranji Trophy.
Record low for Meghalaya
This is also the second-worst ever start in first-class history for any team. The worst ever remains the MCC v Surrey match in 1872, when MCC lost their top six without any run on the board.
The record for the lowest total in Ranji history is with Nagaland, who were shot out for 25 during the 2022/23 season against Uttarakhand. For Meghalaya, their lowest total ever is 46 v Bihar in 2018.
Before this match, Thakur had 17 wickets this season at 28.47, grabbing headlines for his counter-attack in both innings of their match against Jammu & Kashmir. He hit 51 in the first innings followed by 119 in the second.
There's more action in the Ranji Trophy as well, including Virat Kohli returning after a gap of 13 years. Follow all the scores and live updates from the final round here.
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