New Zealand vs India 2020: Mohammad Shami, Shardul Thakur discuss thrilling final over on 'Chahal TV'
After two back-to-back Super Over wins, India's morale is on a different level altogether and they have every possible chance of completing a 0-5 series whitewash. While everything was focused on the Super Over, the unsung heroes were the ones who bowled the final over of the game and defended the runs and tied the game for a Super Over to take place. Those were none other than Mohammad Shami in the third T20I and Shardul Thakur in the fourth T20I.
After being hit for a six on the first ball of the last over by Ross Taylor, New Zealand needed just 3 runs from 5 balls. But Shami still was able to defend those 3 runs and take the game to a Super Over. He discussed his strategies and what his mindset was during that over in a video uploaded Twitter offficial handle of Team India.
Jestfully featuring on 'Chahal TV', Shami and Thakur were interviewed by Yuzvendra Chahal.
"I was planning to bowl good yorkers. I tried on the first ball, it slipped out of my hand, and it went for a six. I had nothing to lose afterwards. I was thinking about how to get dot balls. I thought we have already lost, let’s try to bowl some bouncers. After Kane Williamson got out, I thought that a short ball will do the trick. With the scores tied, I had just one option on the last ball, to get a dot ball. So, I went with a yorker delivery and it paid off.” Shami said.
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While Shami had 9 runs to defend, Thakur had even lesser runs to defend in the form of seven. He had a similar scenario of defending 3 runs from 4 balls and with the help of some brilliant fielding even he managed to force a Super Over. Thakur shared his experience of the final over too in the interview with the leggie.
“There was a lot of pressure. I was trying to get a wicket on the first ball. Mostly, a batsmen tries to go for a four or six on the first ball to try and finish the match as early as possible. My idea was that I will give a slow ball to make them go for a big hit. The plan worked. When I was hit for a four on the second ball, then the pressure increased. But in crunch situations, you can get hit for a six or a four, so I did not lose hope. We saw how Shami bhai was hit for a six on the first ball, but then he defended 3 runs in 5 balls. So why can’t the same happen here. It can happen again,” Thakur said.
“Speaking about knuckle balls, bachpan me hum ungli teda kar ke ghee nikalte the (we twisted our fingers to take out ghee as a kid), so that’s what I just did,” he added.
Also read: Two Super Over finishes have taught me to stay calm: Virat Kohli