Shardul Thakur reveals secret of picking wickets, details on plan to dismiss Eng batsmen

Elaborating on his plans to dismiss a well-set Dawid Malan in the final ODI against England, India's Shardul Thakur revealed his method to pick crucial wickets at odd-intervals. Thakur, who is now fondly known as the 'man with the golden arm', has made a name for himself due to his knack for picking key wickets and shattering partnerships. On Sunday, the pacer returned to do the same as he bagged three key wickets and one dismissed one tailender to propel India to a pole position in the final ODI against England. 

"When I came to bowl 3 wickets had already gone, Dawid Malan and Jos Buttler seemed like they were in good form. I tried to take their wickets because they bat very deep. It is essential to bring in the variations in white-ball cricket. I try to bring in the cutters, slower-ball bouncers, etc to outfox the batsmen. We knew the batting lineup is strong and they will punish us if we don’t bowl well. Especially with this team,” Thakur revealed. 

Hailing from Palghar, Shardul Thakur has jumped up the ranks with his recent performances in Australia and against England at home. The speedster has come in handy with the bat, scoring crucial runs to provide the Men in Blue with an extra cushion. In the final ODI as well, Thakur scored a quickfire 30 to propel India's first innings total. His impressive performance also left skipper Virat Kohli 'surprised' when he was not chosen as the Man of the Match. 

Sehwag hails 'Lord Shardul'

Continuing his striking form, India's pacer Shardul Thakur once again turned the game around in the final ODI against England as he picked up key wickets to keep the visitors on back-foot. The pacer's knack of picking crucial wickets earned him praise from former India cricketer Virender Sehwag, who added a humorous touch to his appreciation. Taking to Twitter, Sehwag shared a still of Thakur from the third ODI and labelled him the 'game changer.' 

Chasing a stiff total of 330, England seemed to be getting back in the game after having lost key wickets early in the game. As Dawid Malan looked to turn the game in England's favour, Thakur, now known as the 'man with the golden arm,' dismissed the newcomer with the help of a brilliant catch from Rohit Sharma. Thakur then quickly dismissed stand-in skipper Jos Buttler and then went on to bag the wicket of Liam Livingstone just as he looked to go big. Off his 10 overs, Thakur conceded 67 runs while picking up four wickets at an economy of 6.70. 

India clinch last-ball thriller 

India were once again asked to bat first after the coin landed in favour of stand-in-captain Jos Buttler on Sunday afternoon. The hosts got off to a brisk start as openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan added 103 runs before losing a couple more wickets after adding 14 runs before Pandya and Pant carried out the rescue act.

In response, England lost their openers quickly as Bhuvneshwar Kumar let the ball do the talking once again after returning from an injury. Just when Ben Stokes and Dawid Malan looked to stitch a significant partnership, Natarajan's over-pitched delivery bagged the wicket of the star all-rounder while Thakur picked three quick wickets. It was then youngster Sam Curran who played a brave knock of 95 runs taking the match to the very last breath. Despite his valiant effort, Curran failed to take England over the line as the Hardik Pandya and Natarajan bowled tight last overs. India won the match by 7 runs, thereby winning the ODI series 2-1. 

Image Credits: BCCI