Shardul Thakur, who is out of the India squads as of now, picked up his maiden first-class hat-trick against Meghalaya on a day where several India discards fared well in the 2024/25 Ranji Trophy.
Meghalaya were shot out for 86 after they fell to 2-6, the second-worst start in the history of first-class cricket. Thakur demolished the top-order with the new ball, picking up three wickets off successive balls.
Shardul shines yet again, Rahane scores fifty
Shardul, who scored a hundred in Mumbai’s previous game against Jammu and Kashmir, continued his fine form in the tournament, picking up his first-ever hat-trick in the format. He ended with 4-43 in 11 overs, sending back four of the top six batters.
Mumbai, who are without Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer and Shivam Dube for the clash due to international commitments, are being led by Ajinkya Rahane, who brought up his first half-century of the edition. Rahane had scored 211 runs in 10 innings before the clash with a high score of 48*.
Rahane has not played for India since India’s Test against West Indies in 2023, where he had made 8 in the only innings he batted.
How did other India players fare in the round?
The last round of the Ranji Trophy made big news due to Virat Kohli’s participation for Delhi against Railways at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. He did not get to bat on day one, but Navdeep Saini, his state mate, who was recently picked as a net bowler for the Australia tour, sent down 18 overs, and picked up three wickets.
