Yash Thakur broke the back of Gujarat in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match on Sunday, April 7 at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. The fast bowler finished with figures of 3.5-1-30-5 as Lucknow beat Gujarat by 33 runs. It was also the first time that LSG got the better of the 2022 champions after 4 losses on the trot.
Thakur picked up the crucial wickets of Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad as LSG bowled GT out for 130 in 18.5 overs while defending 163. Mayank Yadav bowled only a single over and walked off the park. From there on, Thakur put his hands up to take LSG past the finish line.
Thakur also became the second LSG bowler after Mark Wood to pick up a 5-wicket haul. Thakur’s figure against GT was the second-best for a Lucknow bowler in the history of the IPL.
Thakur has quite a bit of experience in top level cricket, having already played 49 T20 matches since his debut back in 2019. Having picked up 74 wickets with a 5-wicket haul to his name, Thakur has given a good account of himself. In the previous edition of the IPL, Thakur, who plays for Vidarbha in domestic cricket, did an excellent job for LSG after he accounted for a 4-wicket haul last year against Punjab at the PCA Stadium in Mohali.
In 12 matches in the IPL since his debut against CSK at the Chepauk in 2023, Thakur has taken 19 wickets at an economy rate of 9.37. He is fifth in the list of all-time leading wicket-takers for LSG in the T20 tournament after Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Krunal Pandya and Mohsin Khan. In 3 matches this season, Thakur has taken 6 wickets, although at an economy rate of 10.24.
