Picture Credit: Twitter
Former India opener Aakash Chopra has heaped praise on India pacer Shardul Thakur after his brilliant performance in the third and final ODI against West Indies on August 1, Tuesday. In the third ODI, Thakur ended up picking four wickets for the Indian side, including that of Shimron Hetmyer and Romario Shepherd, leaving the WI side bowled out for 151 in 35.3 overs. Former India cricketer-turned commentator, Chopra, who was left totally impressed with his performance has praised Thakur.
Chopra said that Thakur doesn’t get enough credit for the way he bowls. He said, “In the previous match itself, Shardul took three wickets. He gets very limited credit for the way he bowls. I am trying to figure out how he takes so many wickets and why he is expensive, both things going hand-in-hand.”
Watch the video here:
He went on to say, “If you are taking three wickets, the economy shouldn’t be much to worry about because 300 is going to be there as a target. He doesn’t give more than 6 runs per over, must be 6.1–6.2. The number of balls he bowls, the chances of him getting a wicket are very bright.”
Chopra added, “We say it’s wicket-taking luck, but if you closely observe Shardul, the reason why he has the wicket-taking luck is because he bowls in those areas and he has a lot of belief. If you ever ask him, How good are you? He would answer, “Equal to Dennis Lillee!”. That’s the confidence he has, and I love him for that.”
The 31-year-old all-rounder has picked up the highest number of wickets in ODI format since the 2019 World Cup, with a total of 48 wickets in 32 games. Speaking of the match, the brilliant 77-run knock by Ishan Kishan and 85-run knock by Shubman Gill helped India put up a mammoth score of 351 runs on the board. Not only this, but the collective effort of the bowlers on the Indian side limited the Windies’ inning at 151 runs, recording a huge win by 200 runs and clinching the series 2-1.
