Shardul Thakur breaks open the 3rd ODI with double scalps of Daryl Mitchell and Tom Latham
Shardul Thakur brought India back into the 3rd ODI with two quick wickets against New Zealand after a brilliant partnership between Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell threatened to take the game away from the hosts.
Coming back into the attack in the 26th over, Shardul bounced out Daryl Mitchell with a well-directed short delivery before enticing Tom Latham into a false shot off a knuckle-ball. Mitchell went for the pull but only managed a glove which was safely gobbled by Ishan Kishan behind the stumps.
The on-field umpire Jayaraman Madanagopal ruled it in favor of New Zealand, but Rohit Sharma was quick to take the review. Mitchell was seen gesturing towards the Indian players that he didn’t nick the ball but the stump mic clearly picked up a little murmur and the ultra-edge confirmed it.
Tom Latham was deceived by a well-disguised knuckle ball from Shardul Thakur, despite it being a full toss. Latham was way too early into the shot and only managed to lob it to the mid-off fielder, Hardik Pandya.
Shardul Thakur didn’t stop there, also claiming the wicket of Glenn Phillips in his very next over.
2 in 2: Shardul Thakur's double impact bcci.tv/videos/5559013…
Thakur's wickets came at the right time for India as the departures of Mitchell, Latham, and Phillips halted the momentum that was building up in New Zealand's innings. Umran Malik took the all-important wicket of Devon Conway in the 31st over after which the chase collapsed. India ended up winning the match by 90 runs.
Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma's centuries set up the platform for a daunting total
Earlier in the day, India posted a huge total of 385 on the board in their allotted 50 overs after being put into bat by Tom Latham. Riding on sensational centuries from Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, India raced off to 212 in just 26 overs before the departure of the openers, which stemmed the flow of runs.
India looked set to cross the 400 run mark, but a bunch of wickets falling between the 30th and 40th over didn’t allow them to press on the accelerator the way they would have liked.
Hardik Pandya scored a fine half-century which eventually took India close to 400. Shardul Thakur also chipped in with a handy 25 run knock off 17 balls.