NEW DELHI: Ajinkya Rahane and Shreyas Iyer may have experienced a lean spell in their recent performances, with both falling for identical scores of seven against Vidarbha on Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy final.
However, Mumbai all-rounder Shardul Thakur expressed confidence in their ability to regain their form and urged for support and backing for the senior batters during their challenging phase.The 41-time champions’ first innings concluded for 224 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

“Ajinkya is not scoring runs throughout the season. He is not in the greatest of the forms. We cannot blame him as it is just a phase for him where he is not getting runs,” Thakur told the media after the first day’s play.

“It’s just a rough patch for them. That’s what I would say (about) Shreyas (and) Ajinkya. These guys have been absolute match-winners for Mumbai and India.”
Thakur also emphasised the importance of supporting seasoned professionals during their challenging phases, urging everyone to rally behind Rahane and Shreyas as they navigate through a period of struggle.
“Right now, it’s not their time; it’s time to support them rather than criticsing them because it’s easy to criticise,” Thakur said.
So far, Rahane has managed to score just 141 runs from eight matches in the ongoing Ranji season, holding an average of 12.81 with a lone fifty to his name.
On the other hand, Shreyas, who has been irregular for Mumbai due to national commitments, has struggled in his return to the domestic circuit. He has accumulated 58 runs from three games at an average of 19.33, with a highest score of 48.

However, Thakur said both Rahane and Shreyas have shown the right attitude on the field, something he believed should work as a pointer to the younger Mumbai players.
“Ajinkya has not scored runs but his attitude on the fielding is top notch. A lot of youngsters coming from U-23 and U-19 cricket in Mumbai don’t have the attitude that he has. You see him in the slips, even if he is fielded for 80 overs, he will sprint (to) save (those) four runs,” Thakur said.
“Shreyas moves around the field like a tiger. He absolutely gives everything that he has on the field. Both of them are role models when they are in the dressing room,” Thakur added.
However, Thakur was disappointed that some of the upcoming batters failed to rise to the occasion as significant as a Ranji Trophy final.
“The other batters…we collectively felt that they should have shown a better approach. Starting from Bhupen Lalwani because he survived the first two or three balls in that over (in which he was dismissed) and still chasing that wide one on the fourth delivery, is not on,” he said.

Thakur was straightforward in stating that players must prioritise the team’s interests above all else.
“They have to learn quickly because (the) Mumbai dressing room is not about (your) own self. When you play here, you play for the team. You have to keep your individual scores, your own game aside.
“When you score 20-25 or 30 runs, the next runs are for the team. They have to learn about it.”
The 32-year-old said the Mumbai batting unit will have to regroup in the second innings.
“We just need to regroup as a batting unit. There are going to be tough days as a batting unit. Probably, we will just have a meeting and decide collectively how are you going to put a big score on the board from the first three or four wickets,” he noted.
Thakur played a pivotal role in rescuing Mumbai from a precarious position at 111 for six with a counter-attacking innings of 75 off 69 balls. His performance in this innings drew parallels to his century against Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy semifinals just a few days earlier.
“I love to play in tough situations and tough conditions. The kind of life that I have lived travelling far from Palghar to Mumbai with the kit bag on the train, you know it was not easy. That has toughened me up,” he said.
In the title clash, veteran pacer Dhawal Kulkarni, who is set to retire after the final, took the place of the injured Mohit Avasthi in the playing XI. Thakur expressed the emotional significance of witnessing his old teammate turning up for Mumbai one last time in the crucial match.
“Today morning it was confirmed that he is playing. It was going to be his last game. It was an extremely emotional moment for him.
“It’s an emotional moment for me also because I have watched him since childhood. When I did not have money to buy shoes, he gave me a few pairs of shoes,” Thakur recalled.
Vidarbha’s Harsh Dubey, whose three-wicket haul included Rahane, said he had dreamt of dismissing the experienced batter.
“I enjoyed dismissing Rahane. I had thought before the game that I would dismiss him. I was determined to do it and it was one of my best dismissals in Ranji Trophy,” Dubey said.
“I tried to get him to drive since the ball was coming off slower at that length and I was successful in what I had planned,” he added.
(With PTI inputs)