India pacer Shardul Thakur was one of the most outstanding performers on the 2021 England Test tour. He especially played a huge role in India’s win in the fourth Test of the series which was played at the Oval ground.
First, he scored 57 in India’s first innings to help them to 191 runs and then picked one wicket as England was restricted to 290 runs. In the second innings, after India had a solid position thanks to 127 from Rohit Sharma, Thakur (60) along with half-centuries from Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant, took India to 466, setting England a target of 368 runs.
He then picked two wickets, including that of Joe Root who was in brilliant form in the series to help set up a brilliant win for his team.
Now as India returns to England to finish the series with the rescheduled fifth Test match which is to be played in Birmingham from July 1 onwards, Shardul Thakur spoke about his experience of playing in England, in a video shared by BCCI.
‘England is bowler’s paradise they say. The ball swings here and at a time you can get a lot of wickets, in one spell. So yeah, England is one of my favorite places to play cricket,” Thakur said in a video posted by BCCI.
Talking about his knocks in the Oval Test, Thakur said: “It was an important inning. England could’ve secured a big lead in the second innings. That got cut down, and because of that we could make a comeback in the third and the fourth innings. When you play an innings like that, everyone in the team gets energized. When you get on to the field, no matter who plays the innings, it reflects on your bowling. It reflects on your fielding.”
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India’s Test fast bowling attack is the envy of other nations with world-class options in Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, and Mohammed Siraj available at disposal.
Shardul also talked about his role in the Indian team's bowling plans.
“In our bowling attack at the moment, everyone is doing well including Shami, Bumrah, Umesh whenever he gets the game…Ishant is there. Usually, they start with the new ball. A lot of times when they’ve picked a wicket or two the new ball in the first spell, my turn comes later,” Thakur said.
Thakur is known for his freakish ability to break big partnerships against the run of play and he loves doing it.
He added: “The opportunity (to bowl) comes later when a partnership has been formed and the third and fourth bowler comes in to give rest to the new ball bowlers. At that time, there’s always a chance for me to pick wickets and do something for the team.”
(Indian Express inputs)
