India's fast bowler Shardul Thakur dismissed England skipper Joe Root in the first innings of the opening Test at Nottingham on Wednesday (August 4). He talked about his bowling plan against a well-set Root after the first day's play.
India had the upper hand on day one after their pacers outshine the English batters. England was bowled out for 183 in the first innings at Trent Bridge as their batting unit collapsed from 138/3 to 183/10.
"Last tour, when we came to England, I was a part of the squad but I did not get to play. Here I have been picked in the first Test, I have not played many Tests but I am just trying to go on with how much knowledge I have.
"I did not think much, I bowled the ball wicket-to-wicket, and I was aware that if Root tries to play the ball on the legside, he can get caught plumb in front and that is what happened," Shardul told teammate Mohammed Shami in a video posted on bcci.tv.
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Shami also opened up on his planning against the England batting line-up. He and Shardul also revealed how they managed to convince skipper Virat Kohli for a review which triggered the batting collapse for England.
"I kept it simple, it is the first match of the series so it is important to set a tone for your team. All the bowlers were backing each other, it is important that you bowl the right line and length in the beginning of a spell. Jonny Bairstow has been dismissed by me many times while bowling in-swinger. I was sure that the ball would be hitting the wickets when I bowled in-swinger and hence we took the review," said Shami.
Talking about the review against Bairstow, Shardul said, "Shami told Virat Bhai that ball would be hitting the stumps, but there was confusion. Everyone was telling Virat bhai to not take the review, I was sure that the ball had not hit the bat, rather it hit the pads. Virat bhai just wanted that there should be at least two players who are wanting to go for a review. I and Shami bhai said we are sure and then he went on for a review. From there, we got the wicket and the collapse was triggered."
Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets, while Shardul bagged two wickets and Shami one. India ended the first day with 21/0 on the scoreboard.
(With ANI Inputs)
