Lord Shardul Does Lord Things, Dismisses Abhishek, Kishan on Consecutive Deliveries

Shardul Thakur and his redemption stories are inevitable. Whether it be coming from behind for Mumbai in the domestic circuit, where he’s a lower-order batting savior, or coming in for the Lucknow Super Giants at the very last moment and becoming their premier pacer in the 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League after being unsold in the auction. 

Thakur picked two wickets for just 19 runs in the two overs he bowled in the first game of the season for his side, and now in the second one, he has dismissed two of the four most swashbuckling batters of the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) batting lineup. 

Thakur began the proceedings for LSG in Hyderabad on a very good note, giving just six runs in his first over. He was trying hard not to give any room to the batters in the powerplay, and also bringing his change-ups into play to keep the batter guessing. 

He did exactly that in his next over and bowled a cross-seamed delivery to Abhishek Sharma that pitched on a back of a length, and the left-hander was caught on the leg side as he looked to swat it away. 

Then, on the very next ball, he bowled a thigh-high delivery down the leg to the new batter Ishan Kishan, and in a classic style of Shardul where he gets soft dismissals, Kishan edged the ball behind to the keeper. 

Prior to this IPL, Thakur had gone wicketless across his last four powerplay spells. In just this IPL, Thakur has picked up two wickets on two occasions in the powerplay. This was also the fifth occasion in the IPL where Thakur was picked multiple wickets in the powerplay.