My god, what were the teams even thinking when they did not bid for wicket-taker Shardul Thakur in the IPL Auctions, last November. Anyways, sanity prevailed and LSG got him as an injury replacement for Mohsin Khan. Now, after delivering a power-packed performance of 2/19 in the first match vs DC, Shardul continued the same form with SRH, in their own backyard, as he bagged two wickets in his second over.
The carnage did not stop there as he came back later in the innings and got two more wickets, to finish his quota with 4/34. And that meant he surpassed CSK’s Noor Ahmad to become the latest purple cap holder in IPL 2025, with six scalps in two matches, and an average of 8.83.
Shardul Thakur Stuns SRH
First he got the dangerous Abhishek Sharma to hit one straight to Nicholas Pooran, and then removed last match centurion Ishan Kishan for a golden duck. SRH, who are known to score in excess of 250 with utmost ease, were reduced to 27/2 in 3 overs, with two of their dashers back to the pavilion.
SHARDUL THAKUR HAS TAKEN ABHISHEK AND ISHAN KISHAN IN SUCCESSIVE BALLS.
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) March 27, 2025
– Golden duck for Kishan. pic.twitter.com/ixot4FcTCW
Come his second spell, he got rid of Abhinav Manohar and MOhammed Shami, to dash SRH’s hopes of getting to 200. Even though Pat Cummins hit him for two sixes in his third over, but that did not change much for the bowler, who managed to keep runs under check. This means, 4/34 is also Shardul’s best figures in IPL, surpassing 4/36, and even achieved 100 wickets in the league.
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It must be reminded to one and all, that Shardul had undergone a dream run in domestic cricket this year, where he performed with the bat and the ball. In nine matches of Ranji Trophy, he had 35 wickets to his name. To go with that, he had scored 505 runs at an average of 42. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he had 10 wickets in 7 outings. And then in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he had 15 wickets in 9 matches, at an average of 24.
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