It’s not lost Thakur long to please his captain again. Erasing Rohit’s frustration with him the next time, Thakur picked up Glenn Phillipswho went above and beyond and was captured by Virat kohli. Post games, Rohit and Thakur hugged each other, celebrating India’s 3-0 victory over New Zealand.
It’s a game that shows why ‘Palghar Express’ continues to be integral to Team India’s ODI World Cup plans, even if he may have lost his place in the formats by now. T20 and Test and ODI. In a match that Rohit witnessed, Shubman and Conway overcame spectacular centuries, it was Mumbaikar who walked away with the Man of the Match award, 3 to 45 in his six rounds.
Earlier in the game, he scored with a key appearance in 25 runs, taking 17 balls and having three fours and one six. When he came in, India, at 313-6 in the 43rd round was threatening to blow away Rohit and Gill’s dream start. In him, Hardik Pandya found a perfect ally as the duo added 54 points from just 34 balls to give India a total score they can rely on, on a road-like surface. school.
Returning from 30 points in the first three passes without a win, Thakur changed the course of the match with his second spell, knocking out Daryl Mitchell and tom latham‘s hit the ball in quick succession, before sending back Phillips on his next one.
Shardul Thakur. (Photo PTI)
When asked about Thakur’s utility in the team after the game, Rohit was gallant before the 31-year-old. “He has a knack for taking points at a crucial time for us. We’ve seen that not only in ODI cricket but also in the Tests. He’s very important to us and our position as a team so I just hope he continues to put in performances like this and that will only bring good to the team and give him confidence that I can come and get the goals,” the Indian captain praised.
“This guy is very smart, he has played a lot of cricket in the country and understands what needs to be done,” added Rohit. The Indian captain liked how Thakur and his other teammates planned to fire his New Zealand counterpart Latham. “In this format you need to use your skills and he (Shardul) definitely has them. He threw a good fingerball to Tom Latham today (Tuesday), Virat, Hardik and Shardul has great planning in between,” Rohit praised.
With 6 goals in three ODIs @ 20.83, Thakur had a good run against the Kiwis, justifying his decision to use him against the nimble Umran Malik in the first two games. At 6.46 his economy was on the higher end, but then two of the games were played on extremely flat racquets and ‘Lord Thakur’ was known to be a fan cooperatively, a pitcher will hit the ball rather than seek to control the run.
How much faith Rohit has in his Mumbai teammate’s abilities can be judged by the fact that the India captain asked him to beat the final in Hyderabad in his first ODI, when New Zealand have 20 points, with a raging Michael Bracewell. . Although Bracewell beat him by six on his first ball and the next was judged wide, Thakur did not lose his cool. He unleashed a foot strike that stuck Bracewell in the front, and India won a close game.
It helped Thakur that in the build up of this series he had a good start in the Ranji Trophy, going six to 122 (2-68 & 3-54) to help Mumbai score a big win over Assam . Dropped from India’s Test team for the iconic series against Australia despite not being named in the typical squad for both Tests in Bangladesh, he has not played T20I since last February.
He might not be an all-rounder in Hardik Pandya’s league. He’s also not the ace in the pack like Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj. He also doesn’t have the deadly speed of Umran Malik. What Thakur has, are some spins, lots of hearts, and some useful batting skills that can come in handy at key moments.
