Shardul Thakur made his first List A half-century a knock to remember as he breezed away to a 57-ball 92 for Mumbai in a Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Himachal Pradesh. Shardul's knock, studded with six sixes and as many fours, helped Mumbai put up an imposing 321 for 9 on the board. Shardul brought up his 50 off just 39 balls and entertained his teammates with a flurry of sixes straight over the bowler's head and over mid-wicket. Thakur switched gears after his fifty, getting the next 42 runs off just 18 balls.
Thakur, who had a List A average of 13.58 before this match, has been handy with the bat for India as well.
He made a game-changing 67 in the first innings of the fourth Test against Australia in Brisbane earlier this year and shared a 123-run stand with Washington Sundar.
That partnership helped India reduce the first-innings defeat to Australia which eventually played a big role in India's series-clinching win.
In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Shardul's Mumbai lead Group D with 16 points from four games after having won all of them.
Shardul was part of the India Test squad for the ongoing series against England but he was released ahead of the third Test to play in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
In other elite groups, Gujarat (Group A), Andhra Pradesh (Group B), Karnataka (Group C) and Saurashtra (Group E) top the respective tables.
Cricket Association of Uttarakhand lead the plate group.
The knockouts of the tournament will be played in Delhi from March 7.