Shardul Thakur has left the English bowlers in shock after his quickfire half-century in the fourth Test against England at the Oval. After being asked to bat first, the Indian batsmen once again struggled to tackle the challenging English conditions. However, Thakur was batting in a different zone as he went out blazing all guns.
The entire Twitter community hailed the all-rounder for his fearless knock. He brought up his fifty in just 31 balls with a six off Robinson. His inning was the second-fastest half-century by an Indian in Test cricket surpassing Sehwag’s 32-ball fifty.
Indian top-3 Rohit Sharma, Kl Rahul, and Cheteshwar Pujara failed to make an impact with the bat. However, Virat Kohli took the command and held one end bringing up his second consecutive half-century of the series. He couldn’t hold on much longer as he departed after reaching the milestone and was then followed to the pavilion by his deputy Ajinkya Rahane and Rishab Pant.
India were 127/7 with Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav at the crease. A total of below 150 was on the cards but the Palghar born all-rounder came to the rescue as he launched a counter-attack against the Englishmen.
Thakur smashed the English bowlers all around the park. He scored a brilliant 57(36) deliveries to keep India in the hunt. He was trapped in front by Chris Woakes but did enough with the bat. His knock included seven boundaries and three maximums while he also stitched a 50-run partnership with Yadav.
Thakur’s innings helped India reach a total of 191. He has given something to the bowlers have to fight for.
This is how Twitter reacted to Shardul Thakur’s exceptional knock
Twitteratis went crazy after witnessing Shardul Thakur’s knock. They filled the social media with praises for the all-rounder as he helped the side come out of a tough situation.
Really enjoyed watching Shardul bat. Yes, a hoick here and there but lots of excellent shots in between. Definitely making a case for a bowling all-rounder at no 8
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 2, 2021
Let’s frame Shardul Thakur’s perfect straight drive. pic.twitter.com/Xq2ApCOfbQ
— Aumbeti Roydo (@aumbetiroydo) September 2, 2021
Lord Shardul telling Top & Middle order how it’s done : #IndvsEng #Shardulthakur pic.twitter.com/9aEd7YikyJ
— Nidhi Surana (@Nids_surana) September 2, 2021
Respect for Malinga increased after watching Shardul Thakur’s masterclass 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/GHoTrBMY5y
— Golden Snitch (@mustafahaji__) September 2, 2021
Wowwwwww
— DK (@DineshKarthik) September 2, 2021
Batting is definitely not as easy as Shardul Thakur is making it ought to be
Well played @imShard #lordthakur pic.twitter.com/x2VHQycLXh
Lord Thakur this innings: #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/cL7NV6Wyzq
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) September 2, 2021
Shardul counter-attacks England in style and races to his 50 with a pull over square leg for 6.
— Sony Sports (@SonySportsIndia) September 2, 2021
Tune into Sony Six (ENG), Sony Ten 3 (HIN), Sony Ten 4 (TAM, TEL) & SonyLIV (https://t.co/AwcwLCPFGm ) now! 📺#ENGvINDOnlyOnSonyTen #BackOurBoys #Shardul pic.twitter.com/pzGbUPnUI8
