Jaipur [Rajasthan], March 1 (ANI): Fast bowler Shardul Thakur put on a batting master-class to smash 92 runs off 57 balls — also his maiden half-century in List A cricket — in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy against Himachal Pradesh on Monday as Mumbai registered a comprehensive 200-run win.
Opening batsmen Yashasvi Jaiswal, Prithvi Shaw, and skipper Shreyas Iyer all were back in the hut inside four overs. With in-form batsmen not living up to the expectations, Shardul, who came into bat when Mumbai was 148/5, creamed six sixes and as many fours to steer his side to 321/9 in the allotted 50 overs.
Shardul, who has been named in the T20I squad for the England series, hit his half-century in 39 balls and then unleashed the beast within. The pacer smashed 42 runs in his last 17 balls to power Mumbai to 321.
Suryakumar Yadav and Aditya Tare also smashed their respective half-centuries to help Mumbai go past the 300-run mark. Suryakumar recently earned his maiden call-up to the national squad and since then hasn’t left a stone unturned in proving his mettle.
Mumbai thrashed Himachal Pradesh by 200 runs to continue their unbeaten streak in the ongoing tournament. Shams Mulani picked three while Prashant Solanki scalped four wickets to wrap up an easy win for Mumbai.
Last week, Shreyas smashed 11 fours and three sixes on his way to a 103-ball 116 to power Mumbai to a total of 317 in the allotted 50 overs.
Following his not-so-good outing in Australia, Shreyas ensured he made the most of the Vijay Hazare games to get into the groove ahead of the T20I series against England.
Meanwhile, the first T20I between India and England will be played on March 12 after the ongoing Test series concludes. Both the teams are gearing up for the fourth and final Test which commences on March 4.
Brief Scores: Mumbai 321/9 (Suryakumar Yadav 91, Shardul Thakur 92; Rishi Dhawan 4-84); Himachal Pradesh 121 (Praveen Thakur 22, Ekant Sen 21; Prashant Solanki 4-31) (ANI)
