Ranji Trophy 2016: Shardul Thakur sows, Mumbai reap on Day 1

Hooda departed four runs short of a half century. He looked fairly untroubled by Mumbai’s bowling, till he received that ‘snorter’ from Thakur. This was a vital scalp for the Ranji champions on Day 1.

Ever since he managed to break into the Mumbai side, the 25-year-old Thakur has been impressive with his lively pace. This, backed by his ability to seam the ball both ways, made him a handful. Over the last two seasons, however, his bowling has gone up by a couple of notches. Hooda’s dismissal illustrated Thakur’s perfection of the short ball. It’s used as a surprise weapon, which has more often than not provided him success in first-class cricket. On Thursday, on a benign, Thakur’s vicious delivery proved to be the highlight on an otherwise dour day. The Mumbai pacer, on his part, was fairly nonchalant when asked about his ‘magic delivery’.

“Hooda looked comfortable on his front foot. So, my plan was to push him back. The only way I could do that was by bowling a short ball. Thankfully, my release was spot on. Honestly, I had never expected it would fetch me a wicket,” he said.

Not too long ago, the fast bowler had got the Proteas hopping during a tour game in Mumbai. He reasoned that bending the back on docile tracks at home has its inherent advantages. “On such tracks (like Palam), it’s imperative that you keep bending your back to get whatever little there is in the track. Otherwise, as a fast bowler, you really don’t have a lot of wicket-taking options,” he said.

Barring his burst in the afternoon session, Thakur kept honing in on the Baroda batsmen with clockwork monotony. In the evening session, he even managed to get the old ball to reverse a fair bit. He was unlucky though, finishing the day with figures of 2/77 in 22 overs.

His analysis does not tell the real story. If anything, Thakur’s relentless spell helped bowlers from the other end. Left-arm spinner Vijay Gohil, who bowled in tandem with Thakur, benefitted with three scalps.
Thakur’s performance against Baroda on Thursday underlined his growth as a fast bowler. Surely, his stints with Zaheer Khan and Glenn McGrath have helped him in his evolution. His five-for against Saurashtra in the Ranji final last season helped Mumbai clinch their 41st first-class title.

Thakur was drafted into the India A squad that toured Australia last month. He was also part of India’s senior squad that toured the Carribean two months ago. He was then picked up as a late replacement for an injured Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the third and final Test against New Zealand in Indore. Despite the two calls to the Indian senior side, Thakur has not managed to make his international debut yet. However, the experiences of sharing the India dressing room with seniors players has only bolstered his confidence.

Brief Scores: Baroda 286/9 in 83 overs (Pinal Shah 66, Deepak Hooda 46, Yusuf Pathan 41; Vijay Gohil 3/70, Shardul Thakur 2/77) vs Mumbai.