Shardul Thakur has a natural outswinger for a right-handed batter, which keeps the slip cordon interested. But it is the one that nips back in or holds the line that becomes a dangerous delivery. Shardul was at his accurate best in Kolkata at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday after his probing spell helped Mumbai enter the Ranji Trophy semifinals with a 152-run win against Haryana.
The medium-pacer finished the quarterfinal with nine for 84, picking three wickets in the second essay as Mumbai comfortably defended the 354-run target, bowling out Haryana for 201.
Shardul’s 10-over opening spell was spread across the pre- and post-lunch session, where he trapped Ankit Kumar and Himanshu Rana in front with nip-backers and induced an outside off Rohit Sharma to the first slip.
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He found support in left-arm quick Royston Dias, who claimed his maiden First-Class five-for.
While the duo maintained the fourth-stump line on a good length, a bouncer was a surprise element bowled without any protection in the deep. The bait worked when debutant Yashvardhan Dalal tried to pull Dias and got caught at square leg before cramping Nishant Sindhu down the leg.
At 60 for five, opener Lakshya Dalal and Sumit Kumar showed resilience and stitched a 90-run partnership. Just when it seemed the host would take the game into the final day, Lakshya’s needless attempt to ramp Tanush Kotian failed, triggering the final collapse in the last hour. Dias returned to remove Sumit and wrapped up the tail.
The day belonged to the bowlers from the start. Although Rahane reached his 41st First-Class hundred, Haryana had more to celebrate. Mumbai lost its remaining six wickets within an hour and 36 minutes into the first session, adding only 75 runs to its overnight total of 278 for four.
Anuj Thakral dismissed Rahane and Shivam Dube in back-to-back overs. Shams Mulani, Shardul, and Kotian’s cheap dismissals kept Mumbai’s score to 339, enough for the defending champion to continue to eye a successive title.
Mumbai will face Vidarbha in the semifinals after the latter beat Tamil Nadu by 198 runs in their quarters clash.