Shardul Thakur's 3 best spells in Test cricket
In his brief Test career so far, Shardul Thakur has made his presence felt in the Indian side already. The 'Palghar Express' made his Test debut against West Indies in 2018.
After a two-year hiatus, Shardul Thakur returned to the Test side when India toured Australia last year. He played a crucial role with bat and ball in India's historic win at the Gabba to seal a series win Down Under.
Since then, Thakur has continued to prove himself on the international circuit. With the team's backing as an all-rounder, Thakur has three half-centuries to his name already.
Shardul also performed his role phenomenally in England earlier this year, keeping Ravichandran Ashwin out of the side. In his five Test matches so far, the Mumbai all-rounder has 16 wickets to his name.
Here, we take a look at three of Shardul Thakur's best spells in Test cricket.
#3 Shardul Thakur's 41/2 vs England at Nottingham
☝️ Joe Root
☝️ Ollie Robinson
Shardul Thakur strikes twice in an over ⚡️
#ENGvIND | #WTC23 | bit.ly/Eng-v-Ind-1 https://t.co/T8swJA35BZ
In the most recent series against England, India made some big decisions on course to take a 2-1 lead in the series. One major talking point was Ravichandran Ashwin's exclusion from the side.
India opted to play with four seamers and an all-rounder in Ravindra Jadeja as they tried to make the most of the conditions.
In the first Test at Nottingham, the Indian pace unit laid a marker for the rest of the series. While Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj went about their business, Thakur silently chipped in with a vital contribution.
As Joe Root threatened to take the game away from India, Thakur delivered the killer blow as he trapped the England skipper. The former Chennai Super Kings bowler delivered twin blows in the over, dismissing Ollie Robinson in the next couple of deliveries to put India in the driving seat.
While the first Test match ended in a hard fought draw, Thakur gave a everyone an early glimpse of what his career might be like and thoroughly justified his inclusion in the squad.
#2 Thakur's memorable outing at the Oval
In the same series against England, Thakur delivered another hefty blow to the hosts in the fourth Test match. With an all-rounder's outing that would make Ian Botham proud, Shardul Thakur delivered a match-winning performance for India.
With back-to-back half-centuries in both innings and 3 wickets in the match, Thakur helped his side to a 2-1 lead in the series. While his batting heroics were essential in keeping India ahead in the game, Thakur's eight overs in the second innings proved to be a crucial element in India's victory.
Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed stitched together a rare 77-run stand as England tried to save the Test on the final day. With seemingly not much happening for the pacers, Virat Kohli decided to utilize Shardul Thakur once more.
The knack of taking crucial wickets at the right moment is what Shardul Thakur has become known for. The Mumbai bowler dismissed Burns as he got one to nip away off the seam and found a nick.
Once again, as Joe Root stood between India and victory, Virat Kohli decided not to take the new ball to try and make the most of the reverse swing on offer and threw the ball to Thakur. "Beefy" as is his nickname, dismissed Root with a pearler on the very first delivery to put India in the driving seat.
Thakur bowled just 8 overs in that innings and gave away 22 runs, picking up two vital breakthroughs for India as they registered their second win in the series.
#1 Thakur plays his part to help India conquere fortress Gabba
First Test wicket for Shardul Thakur ✅
Marcus Harris goes for 5️⃣. Australia 17/2
#AUSvIND | bit.ly/Aus-v-Ind10 https://t.co/uzcgcJEgVH
In what will go down as one of India's greatest Test series wins, Shardul Thakur will have one chapter all to himself. Making his return to the Test side after a two-year gap and playing only his second match, Thakur wasted no time in making his mark.
He managed to score a vital 67 in that game in his 123-run partnership alongside Washington Sundar and also bagged 7 wickets in the match.
Shardul's spell of 61/4 led to a young and inexperienced bowling line-up alongside Mohammed Siraj and T. Natarajan to lead India to a historic victory.
Once again, Thakur bagged the first breakthrough for his side as he broke Australia's opening stand, sending Marcus Harris back into the dugout. He then followed it up by dismissing Cameron Green and Tim Paine in quick succession, before wrapping up with the dismissal of Nathan Lyon.
Mohammed Siraj bagged a fifer in that innings, with Thakur holding onto Hazlewood's catch to bundle Australia out for 294.