“All batters make the mistake of treating him as a halwa bowler”

Former Team India captain Kris Srikkanth believes batters underestimate veteran pacer Shardul Thakur, which works in the latter’s advantage after the IPL 2026 clash between the Mumbai Indians (MI) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on March 29. In his debut game for MI, Thakur produced a match-winning spell of 3/39 in four overs to derail KKR’s progress.

The 2024 champions were rolling at 69/0 in five overs when the discarded Indian pacer entered the attack and wreaked havoc. Thakur removed KKR’s top three in his outstanding spell, helping MI restrict them to a manageable 220/4 in 20 overs.

Talking about Shardul Thakur’s bowling performance after the game, Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel (3:42):

“He bowled brilliantly in his first three overs. All batters make the mistake of treating him as a halwa bowler. Because of that, they try to smash him and get out. Everyone got out because of thinking he was an easy bowler. But I like how he dismissed Cameron Green.”

He continued:

“Shardul Thakur was a revelation. It’s not that he’s bowling deadly. But he is bowling with his limitations and waiting for the batters to make mistakes. He deserved the Player of the Match. It’s a good sign that he’s bowling well within his limitations. Also, Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah brilliantly brought them into the match. Yes, Shardul bowled brilliantly, but it was Boult and Bumrah that made it 220 from 240 to 250 for KKR.”

Thakur was traded from the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to MI in an all-cash deal during the IPL 2026 off-season.

“They should have easily scored 240” – Kris Srikkanth on KKR’s batting

Kris Srikkanth believes the difference between the teams stemmed from their respective opening partnerships. While Ajinkya Rahane and Finn Allen got KKR off to a sensational start, the latter fell with the partnership on 69.

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton ensured not to throw away a brilliant start, adding 148 off 71 balls for the opening wicket.

“An extra 20 runs would have mattered. They should have easily scored 240. I thought Ajinkya Rahane would slow down, but he played a brilliant knock. But the difference between MI and KKR was the length of the opening partnership,” said Srikkanth (via the aforementioned source).

He concluded:

“MI’s openers continued their dominant stand, but here, if Finn Allen had carried on, they would have got a bigger score. Instead of 69, if the opening partnership was 110, it would have made a huge difference.”

MI eventually completed the run-chase comfortably with five balls and six wickets to spare.