Mumbai captain Shardul Thakur delivered a match-winning performance with the ball, taking 4/13 in just five overs, as his side demolished Chhattisgarh by nine wickets in the Vijay Hazare Trophy at the Jaipuria Vidyalaya Ground in Jaipur on Monday. The comprehensive victory gave Mumbai their third consecutive win in Group C, consolidating their position at the top of the table with 12 points.

Shardul’s early carnage reduces Chhattisgarh to 10/4

After winning the toss and opting to bowl, Shardul made full use of the early morning conditions, exploiting the nip in the pitch to reduce Chhattisgarh to a disastrous 10/4 inside the first five overs. The hosts never recovered from the early blow and were eventually bowled out for 142 in 38.1 overs.

Shardul got into the act with the second ball of the innings, trapping right-handed opener Ayush Tiwary, who edged one to Sarfaraz Khan in the slips. Off the last ball of the opening over, one-drop Mayank Verma (3) was clean bowled. In his next two overs, Sarfaraz again got into the act, taking two regulation slip catches off away-going deliveries to give Shardul his third and fourth wickets.

Shams Mulani’s five-for completes the rout

While Shardul wreaked havoc in the first half-hour, it was left-arm spinner Shams Mulani (5/31) who demolished the latter half of the Chhattisgarh batting, bowling quick and maintaining a stump-to-stump line. The last six wickets tumbled for just 27 runs.

Captain Amandeep Khare (63) and all-rounder Ajay Mandal (46) showed some fight with a 105-run stand for the fifth wicket, but once Mulani dismissed Mandal, the remaining wickets fell in a jiffy.

Raghuvanshi and Lad make light work of the chase

Chasing 143, Mumbai made light work of the target. Young Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) star Angkrish Raghuvanshi (68 not out off 66 balls) batted with a bandage patch on the side of his neck following a nasty fall in the previous match against Uttarakhand that required hospitalization. Despite the discomfort, Raghuvanshi looked in excellent touch, striking six fours and two sixes.

He was ably supported by veteran Siddhesh Lad (48 not out off 42 balls), who provided guidance and struck some crisp boundaries of his own. The duo added an unbroken 102-run partnership for the second wicket, wrapping up the chase in just 24 overs.

“All thanks to our physio Mr Suresh who helped me a lot. Had a bad fall but I feel much better now,” Raghuvanshi told reporters after the match.

On the match itself, Raghuvanshi felt that while his captain exploited early help from the surface, it became a “batting paradise” later on.

Learning from Rohit Sharma “felt like a movie”

The youngster, who is a protégé of KKR head coach Abhishek Nayar, also spoke about his experience of batting alongside Rohit Sharma in Mumbai’s earlier match.

“Out of the 141-run stand (in the earlier game), I got 40. Just taking singles and giving him (Rohit) strike and watching him from the other end, it felt like a movie,” Raghuvanshi said with a broad grin.

Raghuvanshi adds wicketkeeping to his skillset

On a personal front, Raghuvanshi revealed he is working on adding wicketkeeping to his repertoire, aligning with the growing trend of utility players getting preference in modern cricket.

“I am really enjoying keeping. It is challenging but it makes you feel that you are always in the game,” the U19 World Cup winner said.

When asked if KKR fans could see him as the franchise’s new wicketkeeper during the 2026 IPL season, Raghuvanshi smiled: “That you will find out in due time.”