India fast bowler Shardul Thakur is in limelight after his bowling performance in the second Test match against South Africa. He picked up a total of 8 wickets in the match; bagging 7/61 & 1/47 in the two innings.
Former South Africa batter JP Duminy praised Shardul and compared him with the Proteas great Vernon Philander. He mentioned how the India pacer utilizes the pitch and extracts maximum benefit.
“I'd liken Shardul to someone like Vernon Philander. The reason why he comes to mind, I think about how he goes about getting his wickets. There was a crack he utilized to his advantage in the first innings.
"But what's impressive is the ability to wobble the seam but be consistent with your lines and length. You’re allowing the surface to be your variation,” he said on cricket.com.
Duminy further pointed out Shardul's ability to swing the ball, which he finds similar to Philander. However, he added that the Indian pacer gets more swing than the ex-South African pacer.
“When the ball lands on each side of the seam, it could move in different directions or it keeps particularly low or bounce towards the batter. This was something Vernon was immaculate at.
"He used to say, he kept the ball in a certain way and I get that impression with Thakur as well. The added advantage is that he has the ability to possibly swing the ball a little more than Philander," he added.
India will hope for Shardul to continue his bowling form in the next Test match as well. The final Test match is going to be the series decider with both teams winning one match each.
(With Cricket.com Inputs)
