Shardul picked up seven wickets in the Gabba Test and also scored a half-century.
India cricketer Shardul Thakur was fortunate to involve in the historic Gabba Test. India managed to take down Australia in the final Test by 3 wickets to win the series 2-1.
Thakur said it was an emotional moment for him to walk with the Indian flag after winning the match. “[Walking with the India flag] was a very emotional moment for me and the entire team. We won the match, that was the important part. Who finished the match for India, how did he finish the match was it doesn’t matter."
"All that matters is that India won the match [Gabba Test], we won the match in Gabba where Australia hadn’t lost a Test match in 32 years. I think, if I’m not wrong, the last time they lost at Gabba was against West Indies, a really good fast bowling attack, the best batting lineup- against the best West Indies side. And then, 32 years later, they lost against us,” Thakur told India Today in an exclusive interview.
Shardul had picked up 7 wickets in the match and he was also the top scorer for India in the first innings with 67 runs. He was included in the side after key players like R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, and Hanuma Vihari were injured.
“There were way too many injuries in this series for us, even Virat Kohli was in Indian on paternity leave, so we were almost a 2nd or a 3rd lineup left. Even in the bowling lineup for India, there was no Ishant Sharma and then even Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav got injured and then even Ashwin got injured during the Sydney Test and couldn’t get fit in time for the Gabba.
"So we fielded a complete inexperienced bowling attack and even in the batting lineup we had Shubman Gill making his debut in the series, even Mayank had not played a lot of games for India. So we walked into the Gabba Test with very little experience in the team. Yet, we went on to win at the Gabba against Australia. Most importantly, we won the series 2-1 after facing a crushing defeat in the 1st Test.”
India was crushed by the Aussies in the first Test at Adelaide. They were bowled out on 36 in the second innings. The team without Kohli was counted out to even win one match. But India fought back in Melbourne and leveled the series.
“We were 36 all out in Adelaide, everyone had written off Team India because even Virat was flying back to India after that, and people were convinced that we could easily lose 4-0 in the series. But to come back from there and win the Melbourne Test. Ajinkya Rahane batted very well at the MCG, one of the best innings he has ever played. Then we pulled off a draw in the Sydney Test, even that draw was like a win for us. Then at the Gabba, everyone witnessed the history that was created. It was rather difficult for us to soak the moment in at that point, so all we did was enjoy the moment,” he added.
The Indian cricketers received a lot of support in the down phase and Shardul said they are grateful for it. The players had taken a victory lap after the win at Gabba to thank all the Indian fans in the stands.
“We also had a lot of supporters for India who were in Australia at the ground. So it was our responsibility to go around the ground and thank the fans at the venue, so in that convoy even I got to hold the flag. Hence, it was a very emotional moment then because I was lifting the Indian flag because all we’ve done throughout our lives is salute to the Indian flag, sing the national anthem on 26th Jan or before a Test match or on 15th August. But being on the ground myself and taking the flag in my hands to thank all our supporters with everyone watching in India on their televisions, to get picturized with the flag as well, it was very emotional,” he said.
“But at the end of the day, the biggest happiness was India winning the series 2-1. We silenced all the critics after beating Australia in their own den. We set our country’s name high in a foreign land, everyone was talking about us. To me, that was the biggest feeling that we took India forward.”
(With India Today Inputs)