India’s Shardul Thakur on Tuesday (January 4) once again proved his worth as an all-round cricketer as he picked up a seven-wicket haul on Day 2 of the second Test against South Africa in Johannesburg.
Thakur drew the first blood on the second day for the visitors, dismissing Proteas skipper Dean Elgar for 28. He also removed Keegan Petersen and Russie van der Dussen to reduce the hosts to 102/4 till the Lunch break.
Shardul continued his brilliance in the second and third session as well. He got rid of Kyle Verreynne and Temba Bavuma in the post-lunch session to claim his maiden five-wicket haul in Test cricket.
Thakur sent Marco Jansen and Lungi Ngidi packing in the final session to bundle out the home team for 229 in 79.4 overs. He eventually returned with the figures of 7/61 in his 17.5 overs, which also happens to be the best innings figures by an Indian bowler on South African soil.
Thanks to Shardul Thakur’s brilliance with the ball, the tourists conceded a first-innings lead of only 27 runs.
For his outstanding bowling performance, Shardul garnered rich praise from the cricket fraternity on Twitter.
Check out the reactions:
