The 25-year-old Vidarbha pacer grabbed this IPL’s first five-wicket to bowl team to victory over Gujarat Titans in Lucknow
Although the Indian cricket board has goaded players to prioritise domestic cricket, IPL still remains the route for players to make an instant impact, especially if one is young and keen to impress. That came to the fore on Sunday night when Lucknow Supergiants pacer Yash Thakur captured five wickets to bowl the team to victory over Gujarat Titans.
Yash Thakur claimed a fifer against Gujarat Titans.(AFP)
Thakur took centrestage on a night when his teammate Mayank Yadav, arguably this IPL season’s fastest bowler who had rocked the opposition in the previous two games, went off after bowling one over for 13 runs due to a mild side strain. He still got to play in his third game of the season because fellow pacer Mohsin Khan had fitness issues.
Unlock exclusive access to the story of India’s general elections, only on the HT App. Download Now!
The 25-year-old wasn’t express, but still proved a key element, with left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya, in LSG building on their reputation for defending a total. His 5/30 – it is the first five-wicket haul of this IPL season – has grabbed more attention than the effort he put in to help Vidarbha reach the Ranji Trophy final.
Also Read | IPL: Mayank Yadav ‘fit and fine’ for LSG’s next game
Thakur returned six-wicket hauls in the semi-final against Madhya Pradesh and in the final against champions Mumbai as Vidarbha dismissed the teams twice in both games. On Sunday, his inspiration and Vidarbha spearhead Umesh Yadav admired the effort from the Gujarat Titans dug out and hugged the youngster after the match.
Thakur’s effort is the latest instance of a young Indian pace bowler making his mark in the batters-dominated T20 format. If Mayank grabbed the headlines in LSG’s back-to-back wins after clocking 150kph-plus deliveries – the fastest was 156.7 kph – Thakur utilised a sticky Atal Bihar Vajpayee Ekana Stadium pitch where GT found shot-making not so easy.
Thakur mixed up slow as well as quick bouncers, making life difficult for batters by hitting the deck and producing occasional slow deliveries. Skipper KL Rahul had motivated him, he said: “Go and grab it, it’s your day and I grabbed it well,” Thakur said Yash after the match.
He struck first to remove GT skipper Shubman Gill (19), bowling him with a quick yorker. He then dismissed Vijay Shankar (17), power-hitter Rahul Tewatia (30), Rashid Khan (0) and last man Noor Ahmad (4).
“I am very happy… I just kept it simple as Rahul bhaiyya said. It was exciting to win as we had not won against GT in the last two seasons.”
“It was tough to see Mayank go out only after delivering just one over with the match wide open,” he said. “I just stayed focused on my game plan as I knew the pitch was slowing down and if I bowled in the right areas, I can take wickets.”
Thakur has 74 wickets in 49 T20 games at an economy of 7.39.
Young Indian pacers though often realise that finding consistency is not easy, Umran Malik being an example despite his pace. Young UP pacer Kartik Tyagi has gone off the boil while Shivam Mavi is again out injured.
Thakur though does not want to be compared with Mayank in terms of pace. “Mayank is a superb talent and has god’s gift of speed. I do what I have learned from the game so far. I never tried to be Mayank and we are blessed to have him in the side,” said Yash, who finished with figures of 3.5-1-30-5.
GT openers Gill and Sai Sudharsan had added 54 runs in the powerplay when his dismissal of Gill turned the tables on the 2022 champions. Pandya bagged 3/11.
