Shardul Thakur recalls Rohit Sharma's advice during his game-changing over in 4th T20I

Team India pacer Shardul Thakur has revealed what Rohit Sharma had told him during the final over of his spell in the fourth T20I against England at Narendra Modi Stadium on Thursday. Shardul could not make much of an impact with the ball in hand but when he was asked to bowl the 17th over which also happened to his last one, Thakur accounted for Ben Stokes, and, skipper Eoin Morgan off successive deliveries to bring the hosts right back into the contest.

'Rohit just wanted me to back my instinct': Shardul Thakur

“I am enjoying myself, and bowling in times when batsmen are going hard at us. Hardik had some plans but Rohit just wanted me to back my instinct. He mentioned one side of the ground is shorter and just asked me to keep it in mind and asked me to apply myself,” said Shardul Thakur at the post-match presentation.

The Mumbai pacer finished with figures of 3/42 from his four overs at an economy rate of 10.50. Apart from Stokes, and, Morgan, Shardul had also picked up the wicket of lower-middle-order batsman Chris Jordan in the penultimate over.

India register a hard-fought win to stay alive in the T20I series

The Men In Blue posted a competitive total of 185/8 from their 20 overs after being asked to bat first as Suryakumar Yadav scored an impactful half-century in his very first innings at the highest level as he scored a 31-ball 57 at a strike rate of nearly 184 including six boundaries and three maximums.

In reply, the visitors seemed to be staring down the barrel at 66/3 but Jonny Bairstow (25), and, Ben Stokes (46) carried out the rescue act with a 65-run stand for the fourth wicket before the former was dismissed. More than an over later, England suffered a middle-order collapse with Stokes and Morgan being dismissed off consecutive balls as the 2010 T20 world champions lost their way in the run chase and were eventually restricted to 177/8 from their 20 overs despite lower-order contributions from Chris Jordan, and, Jofra Archer.

Virat Kohli & Co. registered a hard-fought win by eight runs as the five-match T20I series is now leveled at 2-2.