India fast bowler Shardul Thakur finally showed the world that he could be a force in Test format as well. Three years after his Test debut, in which he could only bowl 10 balls before limping off due to an injury, Shardul was included in India’s XI for the Brisbane Test against Australia.
He was brought in to replace injured Jasprit Bumrah and picked 7 wickets in the match including a 4-wicket haul in Australia's second innings. He brought the feistiness in the Indian bowling attack and complemented Mohammed Siraj, T Natarajan well after Navdeep Saini pulled up injured.
However, his biggest contribution came with the bat in India’s 1st innings. India was reduced to 186/6 in reply to Australia’s 369 when Shardul and Washington Sundar joined hands. The duo added 123 runs for the 7th wicket and took India to a final score of 336 runs.
While Sundar made 62 runs, Shardul Thakur impressed with a brilliant 67 runs in which he hit 2 sixes and 9 fours. During his innings, Michael Hussey on commentary became a fan of his cover drive, that he creamed off Mitchell Starc and compared it to that of Aussie legend Steve Waugh.
In an exclusive interview with Sports Today, Shardul has admitted that he is humbled by the appreciation he has got from "everyone in the world".
"I am really humbled by everyone's gestures. Everyone is appreciating my shots. I mean everyone in the world, especially the cover drive. I never thought that it would come out so well and they would appreciate it so much. I am actually getting shy when someone talks about it.
But when I went in to bat the situation was difficult, 6 wickets were down at that point of time. Washington had played a few deliveries and so I asked him about the nature of the pitch. I asked is it difficult to play or we lost wickets because of pressure.
WATCH - Delighted neighbors welcome Shardul Thakur after a memorable win in Australia
He said the situation was easing out after spending some time, so the immediate plan was to play as many deliveries as possible and kill the tough time,” he said.
"We have seen that their bowlers have played 4 games in a row, the same set of bowlers have played in IPL and England series, they were playing cricket for 2-3 months. Playing 4 Test matches in a row is never easy and in such a high-pressure fourth and decisive game, it was like a final and when you bowl a good number of overs you also get tired.
So, the whole idea was to spend time and bat as much as possible. The planning was to kill the time," Shardul Thakur told Sports Today.
