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Shardul Thakur celebrated his second first-class century with a fist-pump, a big sprint and a wide-chested point to the sky.
Snippets from Shardul Thakur’s celebrations today. (Screengrab/BCCI)
Shardul Thakur went on a sprint, pumped his fists and pointed to the sky with both hands, to celebrate his second First-Class century for Mumbai during the 2025 Ranji Trophy match against Jammu and Kashmir on Friday. It was his second consecutive fifty-plus score of the match, both being equally crucial.
The all-rounder came to bat with the score at 91/6, with Mumbai only five runs ahead of the second innings score in their attempt to put up a defendable target. He strung a brilliant partnership with Tanush Kotian and ended the day at 113 (119) with 17 boundaries, with Kotian staying put at the other end at 58 (119).
Thakur reached his century by sweeping spinner Abid Mushtaq to the leg-side. Watch the shot and his celebration here:
Thanks to Thakur and Kotian’s efforts, Mumbai ended the day leading by 188 runs. That’s a significant score already for a pitch that has some help for every kind of bowler.
In the first innings, he came to bat when Mumbai were reeling at 42/6 and scored a fighting 51 (57) to keep them alive in the contest. In the second innings, Thakur had also picked up two wickets.
Shardul’s knock one of the best I have seen: Jammu and Kashmir captain
Shardul’s knock was lauded by players from both teams. Jammu and Kashmir captain Paras Dogrs said it was one of the best innings he has seen.
“Shardul’s was one of the best innings I have seen,” Dogra said, as quoted by Sportstar, and added: “The ball stopped moving after a point, so that had an impact. That’s when we tried doing something different and tried out bouncers, which did not work. But Shardul played really well…”
Mumbai fast-bowler Mohit Avasthi also lauded his teammate: “His innings has been inspiring. First, he scored that invaluable fifty in the first innings and then followed it up with this hundred and that allowed us to come back into the game…”
Thakur has been out of favor from both India’s Test squad and the IPL after going unsold in the 2025 auction.
