Shardul Thakur | Twitter
Shardul Thakur | Twitter

Shardul Thakur scored a sensational 57 off just 36 deliveries as Joe Root and his men were rendered clueless.

Shardul Thakur turned out to be the saving grace for the Indian cricket team on Day 1 of the 4th Test match between England and India at the Kennington Oval. The right-handed batsman scored a sensational 57 off just 36 deliveries and was the top scorer. Virat Kohli also scored a fifty but was dismissed soon after.

Shardul Thakur
Shardul Thakur. (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images)

Shardul Thakur Scored The Fastest Test Half-Century In England Breaking Ian Botham’s Record But He Wasn’t Aware Of It

Shardul Thakur achieved a special milestone as well during the course of his knock, and scored the fastest Test half-century on England soil, reaching his fifty off just 31 deliveries. And, he broke the record of the great Sir Ian Botham of England, who had reached his half-century off 32 deliveries.

Sir Ian Botham(Getty Images)
Sir Ian Botham(Getty Images)

And now, pace all-rounder Shardul Thakur has opened up on breaking Sir Ian Botham’s record. Stating that he was not aware of it initially, the 29-year-old added that it is a good feeling to score runs for India. Adding that his teammates were teasing him with Sir Ian Botham’s name, the right-hander said that it is nice to be compared to the greats of the game.

“I was not aware of it (breaking Ian Botham’s record). But it’s always good to score important runs for the team. Yes, these guys are teasing me with his name. But I think it’s good to be compared with the greats of the game,” said Shardul Thakur at the end of Day 1.

Shardul Thakur has played only 4 Tests in his career so far after debuting in 2018 against West Indies where he got injured after bowling only 10 balls. He managed 130 runs averaging 32.5 besides picking up 11 scalps averaging 23.

Shardul Thakur Said It Was Important To Play A Quick Innings And So He Kept Going For The Runs

Shardul Thakur added that it was important for him to play such innings, especially after the wicket of dashing keeper Rishabh Pant. Adding that there is no right way to score runs, Shardul Thakur opined that he could connect properly on Day 1, and so he kept going for his shots, instead of defending.

“When Rishabh got out, it was important for me to play such an innings. There are two ways, either you can be patient and bank on the partner to score runs or go and hit it. But at the end of the day, you have to score the runs. I think there is no right way of scoring runs. Runs are runs. Today was a day where I could connect properly. So I kept going for the runs,” added Shardul Thakur.

Umesh Yadav. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Umesh Yadav. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Shardul Thakur is confident that India’s total of 191 in the first innings is a score that will surely matter, and concluded by stating that the pitch is a good one for both batsmen as well as bowlers.

“Definitely, at one stage, we felt 150 or 170 as wickets kept falling at regular intervals. But 190 is a score, in the first innings, is going to count. Runs in the first innings are important and I think we have a chance. I think this pitch is good for both batsmen and bowlers. If you keep pitching in the right areas, something is there in the pitch. But at the same time, the margin of error is less as the batsman can score runs,” concluded Shardul Thakur.

There were only 2 changes in the Indian side that lost the previous Test by an innings. Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur came in as Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma had niggles.

Both justified their inclusion as Shardul Thakur top-scored with 57 and Umesh Yadav picked the crucial scalp of Joe Root before 1st day’s play came to an end.  Umesh Yadav clean bowled Joe Root (21) while Jasprit Bumrah dismissed both the openers as England ended on 53/3 trailing India by 138 runs.