In a record-breaking run feast at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Mumbai mount a gigantic first-innings score of 403 for the loss of seven wickets against Nagaland in the Group C fixture of the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy. Ayush Mhatre and Angkrish Raghuvanshi set the tone early on with a scintillating 156-run opening stand and Shardul Thakur subsequently applied the finishing touches by slamming 73 (28) to help Mumbai cross the 400-run barrier.

It was a day to forget for the Nagaland bowlers. They received some heavy pounding from the Mumbai batters, mostly notably from Mhatre, Raghuvanshi, and later from the Mumbai skipper Thakur who smoked them to all parts. Nagaho Chishi turned out to be the most expensive bowler finishing with expensive figures of 2-100 in his 10 whereas Imliwati Lemtur was the only bowler who bowled with some degree of control finishing with formidable figures of 1-49 while going at 4.9 RPO.

Shardul's late flourish with the bat powers Mumbai to a massive score

With the stage perfectly set for an insane assault towards the back end of the innings, the former Indian all-rounder wasted no time in getting into the act. Walking in to bat at number six, Shardul raced to his half-century in a matter of only 24 balls. He remained unbeaten till the end and improved his individual score to 73. In his 28-ball innings,  Shardul hammered two fours and eight sixes and scored at a breathtaking strike rate of 260.71.

Shardul predominately scored on both sides of the wicket however, his wagon wheel suggests that the hard-hitting all-rounder favored the off-side more than the on-side. Nearly 52% of his runs came on the off side. He primarily targeted the long off boundary and the mid-wicket boundary and smashed as many as six boundaries in these regions. Third man and fine leg have been his least productive scoring regions in his blazing 28-ball innings.

See also: Abhishek Sharma slams 60-ball century with centurion Prabhsimran Singh to set record partnership

Shardul's Wagon Wheel

At the time of writing, Nagaland had already commenced their run chase and it was Shardul Thakur again who sprung back into action with the ball this time reducing Nagaland to 13-2 by the end of the fifth over.