Shardul Thakur’s shot sometimes disappointed the audience, even India Test captain Rohit Sharma got angry with him. One of the important assets that India has now is not just with the ball, but he got India out of trouble with his shot.
He crushed a handful against the Australians at the Gabba Test and his partnership with him Washington Sundar He gave great relief to India. Even against England, Shardul’s twin fifties played a big part in India’s win. But sometimes he disappoints those who see him with his hits.
One such event took place during the Gabba Test, which angered Rohit Sharma, as Ajinkya Rahane recalls. This happened on the second hit of the Gabba Test as India was chasing the 328. India had already lost Mayank Agarwal and Washington Sundar in a row. Rishabh Pant was a sharp batsman at the crease when Shardul Thakur joined him. He needed to play responsibly at the time to chase the target, but instead he fired hastily and was ejected for two.
“When Washington came out, Shardul Thakur was coming in. ‘This is your opportunity to be a hero,’ Rohit told him. And he just nodded and left,” Rahane said in the documentary ‘Bandon Mein Tha Dum’ aired on VOOT.
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R Ashwin says Shardul wants to finish match like Dhoni
R Ashwin said, “As I was going, Rohit said, “Shardul, finish it”. That’s exactly what he said, I totally understand Shardul. He used to dream… ‘As Ravi bhai said, Dhoni hits six and wins the World Cup’. So Shardul’ He’s already figured out that moment, commentary, book, movie, everything inside his head, so Shardul went for it, went to the short square leg and came out. And everyone inside said, “What are you doing?” says.
Rahane later added: “Rohit was sitting next to me. He said, ‘Let the match be over, we will win, I will teach him a lesson’. I said, ‘Forget it, we’ll see when the match is over’.
Shardul’s rook did no damage to the team and India went on to win the historic Gabba Test. Rishabh Pant’s undefeated 89 helped the team reach the score. The special thing about this Test was that India eventually surrendered their defeat on the field to the Australians in 32 years and won the match 2-1.
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