All-rounder Shardul Thakur starred with the ball in India's five-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in the second ODI at Harare Sports Club on Saturday (August 20).

Opting to bowl, India bundled out the hosts for a paltry 161 in 38.1 overs with Thakur bagging three wickets. He accounted for the dismissals of Innocent Kaia, Regis Chakabva and the dangerous Sean Williams to return with figures of 3-38 in his seven overs.

Speaking after the game, Shardul said he needed to be smart while bowling with the old ball in the match.

“You have to look at what the opening bowlers have bowled, whether it's swinging or seaming around. And according to the batsmen, you have to be smart as a bowler to adjust accordingly. Early on, it was a little on the slower side. Later on, there was a bit more so we could bowl more bouncers,” he said in a post-match interaction.

Thakur also acknowledged that he needs to enhance his skills to flourish more as a bowler.

“What I can improve on is guess where the batsman is going to attack me and bowl accordingly. I think I have good skillsets so I just need to keep polishing those in the nets. Sometimes you just need to hit the deck hard and keep it tight,” he added.

With this victory, India took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the ODI series. The third and final ODI will be played at the same venue on Monday (August 20).

(Times Now inputs)