Hyderabad/Lucknow: The Sunday night belonged to Vidarbha pacer Yash Ravisingh Thakur, who clinched a fifer to help his side Lucknow SuperGiants register a comfortable 33-run win against Gujarat Titans in their Indian Premier League game at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.
The 25-year-old Yash Thakur, who has risen in ranks, has played a key role in Vidarbha's success in domestic cricket, clinched his maiden Man of the Match Award in the cash-rich league and the right-arm speedster was on cloud nine.
Thakur's spectacular effort with the ball earned him fine figures of 5 for 30 as Lucknow SuperGiants bowled out the opposition to 130 after putting up 163 for 5 on the board.
Thakur, who made his first-class debut versus Chhattisgarh in 2018 at Raipur, is an integral part of the Vidarbha team. And he was there in the Vidarbha team that ended up as runners-up in the Ranji Trophy 2023-2024 side.
"First of all, I'm very happy that I bagged the first Man of the Match Award in the IPL (Indian Premier League) and I want to thank the team's coaches Morne (Morkel) Sir and Justin (Langer) Sir and KL (Rahul) Bhai for showing so much belief in me," Thakur told reporters at the post-match press conference.
"Yes the total was 160, but we knew that the pitch was becoming slower. And we stuck to our plans. I used variations including bouncers and slower ones and I got success and so (Rahul) Bhaiya asked me to continue," added Kolkata-born Thakur.
Lucknow Super Giants suffered a blow when upcoming pacer Mayank Yadav, who won two successive Man of the Match Awards, walked off the field due to a side strain. After that KL Rahul, the LSG skipper gave confidence to Yash Thakur, saying he should keep his belief and it was his day to shine.
It was Thakur's third game this IPL season after remaining wicketless in the game against Rajasthan Royals (0 for 43) and taking a lone wicket in the game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (1 for 38). Be it Ranji or any other competitive games, Yash Thakur says he keeps his "mind clear" and keeps his focus on the controllable instead of thinking about the uncontrollable.
"This is what I have been thinking about from the start of the season," quipped Thakur, who has 67 first class wickets from 22 games. Thakur has no specific range where he can bowl and is comfortable bowling during any period from overs 1 to 20. He says that he prepares to bowl during any time of the game.
Yash Thakur was candid saying that he knows his limitations and strengths and backs his strengths. "If the team has (certain) expectations from me, then I am happy about it," he added.
His coach Praveen Hinganikar, a former Vidarbha skipper, spotted special talent in Yash Thakur and advised him to leave the wicket-keeper gloves and take pace bowling. Vidarbha coach Usmani Ghani, who has been coaching Yash Thakur since the U-14 days, told ETV Bharat that the pacer is an intelligent bowler.
"Yash knows how to bowl in the powerplay and also has an idea of how to bowl in the death overs. He also has the ability to handle pressure well. Lucknow SuperGiants can definitely rely on him. Now to injury concerns, fast bowlers play in rotation and Yash is someone who has the ability to bowl well," elaborated Ghani.
Ghani says if Yash works hard then he can definitely impress the national selectors and make it to the Indian team. "Yash Thakur was on standby for the Indian team, which played in the Asian Games. He has all the weapons in his kitty and his Yorker is pretty impressive," added Ghani.
Another person who has inspired Yash is seasoned India and Vidarbha pacer Umesh Yadav Umesh, who was in the losing side on Sunday, must have been proud of Thakur's efforts. Thakur has also been a part of the Indian U19 team but his moment of reckoning surely came on Sunday.
Noted coach Umesh Patwal, who has also guided Yash Thakur, stressed that the backing of a captain and a coach is instrumental in a player's growth and the same happened with Yash Thakur.
"KL Rahul is backing him and Gautam Gambhir backed him and that proved to be beneficial for him," Patwal told ETV Bharat over the phone. Patwal recalled an incident when Thakur was afraid of bowling to bigger names and how his advice did the trick for the pacer.
"He had come to me during his U-16 days. He was initially afraid of bowling to bigger names, like those who had played the Ranji Trophy, I told him the bigger the name, you have a greater chance of success. From then he did not look back. He had his injuries, he had his dark days (but now he is shining," recollected Patwal.
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