Tushar Deshpande claimed a hat-trick on Day Two of Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy match against Chandigarh at the Wankhede Stadium, becoming the sixth Mumbai bowler to achieve the feat in the competition. The 31-year-old finished the day with figures of six wickets for 17 runs, also contributing 44 runs batting at number nine, as Mumbai enforced the follow-on with a commanding 351-run lead.
Deshpande’s hat-trick ball was a delivery aimed at the top of off stump. Chandigarh’s number five, Dipender Kush, could only edge it to the slip cordon, where Yashasvi Jaiswal held a clean catch. Deshpande then added a wicket to complete a five-for in Chandigarh’s first innings before striking again in the opening over of the second innings.
“If you see, it was a top-of-off-stump ball. The plan was just to bowl my best ball, and (Yashasvi) Jaiswal took a good catch,” Deshpande said of the hat-trick delivery, as quoted by Cricbuzz.
The match also marked Deshpande’s 50th first-class appearance, a milestone he had set his sights on making count. He has been one of Mumbai’s most consistent performers across formats, accumulating 126 wickets in 42 Ranji Trophy games at an average of approximately 26, along with 666 runs that include a century and a half-century.
What did Deshpande say about his performance and mindset?
Deshpande has been coached by his father Uday, who played A Division cricket in Mumbai. That grounding, combined with experience at the IPL level, has shaped a cricketer who has taken hat-tricks previously in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy against Mizoram in 2023, in an MCA Under-16 selection tournament and in school cricket for KC Gandhi School in Kalyan, a subdivision of Thane district near Mumbai.
“It was one of my best (performances) because every ball, it felt like you would take a wicket.” He added that the milestone of a 50th first-class match was on his mind from the start. It’s my 50th first-class match today, so I had it in my mind that I wanted to make it special. But it wasn’t as if I was thinking about a hat-trick or anything like that. I was just going to give my 100% today. When I was batting, there were some patches on the wicket where the ball seemed to move a bit. My only focus was to bowl as many balls as possible in the right areas, and it paid dividends today. I would say that if we can put on another show like we did in the first innings and maintain the intensity whenever I bowl, I’ll be even happier. We have just enforced the follow-on, but we have to come back tomorrow, bowl in the right areas and finish the job as early as possible,” Deshpande said.
How has Deshpande responded to being overlooked for India A?
Deshpande had been keen to be part of the India A squad for the tour of New Zealand, but was not selected. He acknowledged sitting with that disappointment for a day before refocusing on domestic cricket. His recent form for India A against Australia A in Puducherry had been strong: a 52 as nightwatchman in the second match helped India A avoid defeat and seal the series, while a five-wicket match haul had driven the win in the first game. Despite missing out on the New Zealand tour, Deshpande made clear that his ambitions remain firmly fixed on Test cricket.
“There is always motivation to play Test cricket for India, no matter whether I am selected for the A-team shadow tour or not. I thought about it for a day, but I have always said that I want to chase performance, not selection,” he said.
Deshpande also sounded a note of caution about the match situation, even with Mumbai holding a substantial advantage.
“Looking at the scorecard, you always feel that the opposition wasn’t good enough. But, to be honest, you cannot take any opponent lightly in today’s cricket. In the past, we have lost to weaker teams. So, as Mumbai cricketers, our job is to collect as many points as possible,” he said.
The other five Mumbai bowlers to have taken a Ranji Trophy hat-trick are Jehangir Khot against Baroda in 1943-44, Umesh Kulkarni against Gujarat in 1963-64, Abdul Ismail against Saurashtra in 1973-74, Royston Dias against Bihar in 2023-24 and Shardul Thakur against Meghalaya in 2024-25.
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