Shardul Thakur – The crisis man for India in away tours

Shardul Thakur is one man who has stood up to everything his captain Virat Kohli has asked of him in recent times. After the heroics in Gabba, Thakur has continued to impress everyone in England. There was a lot of debate around his selection over Ravichandran Ashwin in the first Test at Trent Bridge and those discussions were at their peak after the toss in The Oval Test.

But by the end of day one, he had already made Kohli feel a bit better with his 36-ball 57 in the first innings. The knock rescued India from 127/7 and took them to a respectable score of 191. Then on day two when Ollie Pope, who averaged 100 at The Oval, was cruising along for a century, Thakur stopped him by dismissing him on 81.

Star at The Oval

One can argue this as an important turning point as with Chris Woakes on the other end, Pope could have pushed for a big total for England in their first innings. On day four, Thakur came in to bat at 312 for 6; India were just 213 runs ahead. With Rishabh Pant, Thakur produced a brilliant partnership, similar to his stand with Washington Sundar at Gabba earlier this year. Similar in class, similar in importance. His 60 runs off 72 balls was a nail in England’s coffin.

We Call Him “LORD SHARDUL” For A Reason😌💙💙💙…Fearless & Aggressive😎💙💙💙…Well Played @imShard 🙌🏻💙…#LordShardul #ShardulThakur #ENGvINDpic.twitter.com/PsYueXD2WD

— Bitan Sangram (@IAmBitan45) September 2, 2021

When England got off to a brilliant start with close to a 100-run stand, Kohli turned to his magic man again. Thakur came and helped England’s stand to reach 100, but got the breakthrough to start India’s day. Thakur has also almost spoiled his captain by now. Every time things get shaky, and the opposition seems to be on top, Thakur produces something. This is a trend which was seen in Australia, later during the white-ball series in India against England and now in England.

Thakur’s batting has been a revelation and just what India needed to play four seamers regularly in overseas conditions. His bowling, well, has been a bit of mystery. There is nothing that seemed threatening about his bowling but it is deceiving. He has got a bit of swing, has a clean action, has enough pace to push the ball through, and is mostly as accurate as you expect your fourth seamer to be.

Just four Tests into his career, Thakur has produced magical moments. There are players who might have gone years without producing as many turning points as he has done in basically three Tests. On the fifth day at The Oval, at the 80th over mark, when Kohli was getting a bit uncomfortable with Root, he threw the ball to Thakur. And as they say, you pray to the Lord with your heart, you get the rewards. Kohli might’ve as Thakur got Root with his very first ball.

It is quite difficult for any of us to understand and dissect his game at this moment. What we know for now is whatever he is doing is working out well and no one wants him to stop.