Five best bowling spells of Shardul Thakur's career

Jasprit Bumrah, who had injured his fingers in the first T20I against Ireland last week, was ruled out of the ongoing T20I series against England, and as the Indian side looked like they will reel under his absence, Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) pacer Shardul Thakur has been lined up as a replacement to the Bumrah, who is currently ranked No. 1 in the T20I format.

Thakur comes from a very successful season in the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he won the title with Dhoni and co. The bowler was instrumental in some victories for the team as he was able to pick up a few important wickets.

While Thakur's domestic career has easily taken off with him playing for the Mumbai side, he has not really been exploited in the International conditions. The England outing could hence prove to be a make-or-break period of time in the young man's career.

Let us take a look at some of the most outstanding spells of Shardul Thakur, over the course of his cricketing career.

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#1 6/53 and 3/70 against Uttar Pradesh, Ranji Trophy Group Stage (2014)

In a match that Mumbai won convincingly by eight wickets, Shardul Thakur was the pick of the bowling department of the winning side. Thakur removed the top four batsmen of the UP squad on different occasions, never allowing any of them to post big scores. Tanmay Srivastava at 67 was the only exception. After a brief break, he came back to remove two batsmen from the middle and lower-order, and wrapped up the Uttar Pradesh innings at 206. Thakur's individual figures read 25.4 - 9 - 53 - 6.

Mumbai replied with a score of 270 and when UP came to bat again, Thakur picked up three more wickets, as Tanmay Srivastava fell prey to Thakur once again, this time for a duck. Arish Alam had a nightmare game, with the UP middle-order batsman getting dismissed for naught in both innings, both times by Thakur. By the end of the game, Shardul Thakur's overall figures read 42.4 - 13 - 123 - 9, and he was elected player of the match.

#2 5/39 against Baroda, Ranji Trophy Group Stage (2014)

In the same season as the game from the previous slide, in fact just a month later, Shardul Thakur and Mumbai were facing Baroda in yet another Group match of the 2014-2015 Ranji season. Mumbai were put to bat first and they scored 287 runs. Batting second, Baroda fell 103 runs short of Mumbai's first innings score. In reply, Mumbai declared at 304/9, handing Baroda a target of 408 runs to win.

It was already a far cry for Baroda if they wanted to win the game, as they were dragged even further down by Shardul Thakur's neat spell of bowling. He completed yet another five-wicket haul, as the likes of Hardik Pandya and Deepak Hooda fell prey to his pace attack. As Mumbai completed a win by 169 runs, Thakur's figures read 23 - 9 - 39 - 5.

#3 3/89 and 5/26 against Saurashtra, Ranji Trophy final (2016)

Mumbai were well on their way to their 41st Ranji trophy win in the event's 82nd year, and the team were locking horns with a charged - Saurashtra in an epic battle. However, the match turned out to be as one-sided as it can ever get, as Mumbai emerged winners by an innings and 21 runs, thanks largely to an inspired performance from Shardul Thakur.

The pacer picked up three scalps in the first innings, as Saurashtra were restricted to 235 all-out. Mumbai responded brilliantly, scoring 371 runs, which meant a lead by 136 runs. What followed next was historic, as Saurashtra folded for just 115 runs, as Thakur dismissed Pujara and later four of the last five Saurashtra batsmen, giving away just 26 runs. His overall figures read 21.2 - 4 - 89 - 3 and 13.2 - 1 - 26 - 5 in either inning, as Mumbai won the game and the Ranji trophy as well. Thakur was also adjudged Man of the match in the final.

#4 6/31 against Bengal, Ranji Trophy Group Stage (2016)

Thakur's career-best figures came on November 29th of 2016 when the Mumbai team faced Bengal in the 2016-2017 edition of the Ranji trophy. Bengal were dismantled for just 99 runs in their first innings, as Thakur ended up with figures of 13 - 4 - 31 - 6, as he ran through the top order, taking the prized wicket of Manoj Tiwary among others.

In reply, Mumbai made 229. Bengal were more effective in the second innings as they made 437 runs, but that was not enough as Mumbai cleared the 203-run target with four wickets to spare.

#5 4/27 against Sri Lanka, India vs Sri Lanka in Nihadas Trophy (2018)

Shardul Thakur finally got his big international break in the Nihadas Trophy, the tri-series between India, Bangladesh and hosts Sri Lanka in early 2018. A lot of the senior players were rested and Thakur was a main pacer for the team then. And he delivered a good performance in the fourth game of the tournament, as India faced hosts Sri Lanka. Thakur initially removed opener Gunathilaka, after which he came back in the middle overs to remove the dangerous Thisara Perera. He then completed his four-wicket haul by dismissing Shanaka and Chameera.

Sri Lanka concluded at 152/9, as India responded brilliantly scoring 153 with six wickets to spare, winning the match easily. Thakur was handed his maiden international Man of the match award, for his figures of 4 - 0 - 27 - 4.