To celebrate India’s victory in the recent India-Australia cricket test series, Anand Mahindra will gift Thar SUVs to six debutant players
On 19th January 2021, India secured a historic victory in the India-Australia test series. The Indian team, riddled with injuries, won the series on Brisbane Cricket Ground, popularly known as Gabba, sparking celebrations throughout India. To commemorate the win, Anand Mahindra, chairman of Mahindra Group, has announced that he will be gifting Thar SUVs to six debuting players of the winning team.
The players who’ve won themselves a new Thar are Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Thangarasu Natarajan, Washington Sundar, Shubman Gill, and Navdeep Saini. Interestingly, Shardul Thakur had played his first test match back in 2018, but had to retire early due to injury, and thus this is being counted as his debut match.
On Twitter, Mr. Mahindra called this a true ‘Rise’ story, as the crew managed to win against all odds. During the test series, many players were unable to play either due to injury or unavailability. Despite that, the team managed to bring home a victory. Apart from Natrajan and Saini, all the players mentioned above will be playing in the upcoming test series against England.
Theirs are true ‘Rise’ stories; overcoming daunting odds in the pursuit of excellence. They serve as an inspiration in all arenas of life. It gives me great personal pleasure to gift each of these debutants an All New THAR SUV on my own account—at no expense to the company. (2/3) pic.twitter.com/5aiHSbOAl1
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) January 23, 2021
The Mahindra Thars being awarded to the players are gifts from Anand Mahindra personally, and not the company. The current version of the SUV (second-generation model) was launched in October last year. The Thar is enjoying a strong demand in the Indian market, with waiting period extending up to 9 months for select variants.
Mahindra Thar is available with two engine options. The first one is a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol motor, which can develop a peak power of 150 PS and a maximum torque of 320 Nm (300 Nm on MT). The second one is a 2.2-litre turbocharged diesel powerplant, with 130 PS and 300 Nm on tap. Both the engines can be had with either a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic transmission.
The Thar comes standard with a 4×4 system and a low-ratio transfer case. It is also an extremely safe vehicle, having scored a 4-star safety rating from Global NCAP. The price of the Mahindra Thar ranges from Rs. 12.10 lakh to Rs. 14.15 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi), and buyers can choose to have theirs with either a hardtop roof, a soft-top roof, or a soft-top convertible roof.