Happy birthday Shardul Thakur: The pacer's top 3 IPL performances

Indian fast bowler Shardul Thakur, who turned 28 on Wednesday, has been a force to reckon with when it comes to the shortest format of cricket, T20s. In the Indian Premier League (IPL) so far, Thakur has picked 36 wickets in the 117.5 overs he has bowled in the competition. He has played for three teams in the competition - Kings XI Punjab, Rising Pune Supergiants and Chennai Super Kings. Here are his three of his best performances in the competition.

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1) 3/19 against Rising Pune Supergiant (2017)

In this 2017 IPL game, Shardul Thakur was playing for the erstwhile Rising Pune Supergiant and was up against his former team, Kings XI Punjab. Winning the toss, Supergiant elected to field first and Thakur made the most of this opportunity. They bowled Kings XI out for a paltry total of 73. Thakur's spell of 3-19 in four overs came at a miserly economy rate of 4.75. Supergiant surpassed the target in 12 overs with the loss of one wicket. Ajinkya Rahane top-scored with an unbeaten 34-ball-34.

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2) 2/18 against Rajasthan Royals (2018)

Shardul Thakur's IPL performances have improved with the Chennai Super Kings. In their 2018 match against the Rajasthan Royals, CSK made the most of being sent in to bat and posted a total of 204-2 in 20 overs. Shane Watson top-scored with a 57-ball-106 for Chennai. Thakur made his mark for CSK in this game as Rajasthan were bowled out for 140 as the pacer's spell of 2-2-24 proved to be a massive difference between the two sides. 

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3) 2/18 against Kolkata Knight Riders (2019)

This match in the IPL 2019 in Kolkata was highly anticipated and Thakur was once again up for the big occasion. Chennai Super Kings won the toss and elected to bowl. Kolkata seemed to be heading towards a big score, but were restricted to just 161 on a free-scoring pitch. Chris Lynn's 51-ball-82 was nullified largely by Thakur's spell at the start and the death, as he ended with 2-18 in his four overs. Chennai chased down the total in 19.4 overs with the loss of five wickets.

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