Bumrah and Yadav hail Shardul Thakur's Oval heroics, laud his impact in India's victory

Team India on Monday displayed yet another fightback and defeated England by 157 runs in the fourth Test at the Kennington Oval. After suffering a horrific loss at the Headingley, Team India bounced back from a slow start. Pacer Jasprit Bumrah and an all-round performance from Shardul Thakur were instrumental in India's victory over England. Thakur scored two fifties in both the innings of the fourth test match to help guide India to their win at Oval in 50 years.

Shardul feels overwhelmed to contribute to win

Shardul scored a vital 57 off 36 balls in the first innings when things were looking bleak for India and gave the men something to hold on to as he took India to 191. In the second innings, India got off to an excellent start with Rohit Sharma scoring 127 off 256, but a middle-order collapse meant another big performance from Shardul. He managed to score 60 off 72 balls to help India to 466. He also took one wicket in the first innings and two in the second. Speaking to bcci.tv after the match, Thakur said that it felt great when he found out he would be playing for India and planned on making an impact in the game that would help the team win. He said that he was very happy to have contributed over 100 runs and three wickets in the match. He also added that he knew he had the ability to bat after having practiced in the nets.

"It feels great, the day I got to know I am playing the game, I planned on creating an impact in this game and creating such an impact that I have to make a useful and winning contribution for the team. On day five, with this result, I am very happy that I could contribute more than 100 runs and three wickets in the game. I always believed that I had the ability to bat, in the nets, there was enough time to bat. I think these are the small things I have done in the nets."

Bumrah and Umesh Yadav praise all-rounder Shardul

Umesh Yadav was also happy to put in a good performance for the country and also shed some light on the team's mentality on Day 5. "Definitely, I am feeling very good. After a long time, I played a match and I gave a good performance as well. Not just me, everyone performed well and it was a team effort. Shardul gave an all-round performance, Rohit and Rahul started well, and then the middle-order and lower-order came to the party. We know the wicket was flat so we had to put in a lot of effort on Day 5. We tried to bowl at good lengths and we tried to contain as we knew the wickets would come," Umesh told bcci.tv.

"It is massive. Shardul Thakur played two crucial knocks that really helped us to gain momentum. Even in the first innings, he changed the momentum and it shifted towards us. We created a lot of pressure and we got two wickets in the evening session on the first day. And in the second innings, we had gotten to a reasonable score but he took the team to safety, and with the ball, he took the crucial wickets. His impact was massive, it is always necessary to have that fifth bowler who gives you that comfort and does the job for the team. Hopefully, he carries on," said Bumrah during a virtual press conference after the match.

How the match played out

Despite conceding the lead after the first innings, Team India bounced back in the second innings of the England vs India 4th Test match to crush the home team by 157 runs courtesy of a fine bowling performance from the Indian bowlers. Apart from openers Haseeb Hameed and Rory Burns the rest of the batting lineup collapsed following some incredible bowling effort from the Indian pacers. With a 2-1 lead in the England vs India Test series, Virat Kohli and co need a win or a draw to capture the series. 

(Inputs from ANI)
(Image Credits: AP)