Ranji Trophy 2024: Shardul Thakur Brings up Maiden FC Century in Style With Animated Celebration - WATCH

Mumbai’s premier all-rounder, Shardul Thakur has gone on to deliver in the crucial semi-final fixture against Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy. He scored his maiden first-class century to give his side the lead in the all-important fixture.

The batting side was in trouble after the set batter Musheer Khan was dismissed in the 48th over by the TN skipper Sai Kishore. The captain went on to clear out the majority of the batters as he picked up six wickets to leave the home side reeling.

But Thakur stood resilient, building a century-run stand with the wicketkeeper-batter, Hardik Tamore to get the most successful side in the tournament back in the game.

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His knock was an aggressive one, looking to take on the bowlers regardless of how they performed as he went on to 13 boundaries and four maximums while he remains unbeaten.

Mumbai have already taken a significant lead in the match with the side nearing the 150-run lead mark at the final session of the second day in Mumbai.

The 32-year-old went on to bring up his century in style as he struck the left-arm orthodox bowler, Ajith Ram for a maximum towards long-on.

With plenty of time on their hands, the home side will look to establish a bigger lead so that they can bowl out the opposition and make it to their 47th final, which is the most by any side in the history of the Ranji Trophy.

TN on the other hand will look to get back in the game with a strong batting performance. Their first innings was not up to their standards throughout the tournament as they were bundled out for just 146 runs thanks to a brilliant bowling effort from Mumbai.

Thakur was amongst the wickets as well as he picked up two along with Musheer and Tanush while Tushar Deshpande picked the most with three scalps to put the hosts well in front.

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Shreyas Iyer on the other hand was in the spotlight after not being considered for BCCI’s central contract which was announced recently and had a point to prove. But he only lasted for eight deliveries scoring just the three runs after which he was dismissed by Sandeep Warrier who had uprooted his stumps.