Gabba to the Ova Thakur’s heroics stand out for Indi

When this Indian cricket team is on the field in a tense spell of play, it’s not about the bowlers alone. It’s the familiar sight of Virat Kohli the conductor, orchestrating the crowd’s music, gesticulating to drive them to a crescendo aimed at psychologically overwhelming the opponents. Even if the opponents are the home side.

England had safely negotiated the day’s first eight overs from Jasprit Bumrah and Umesh Yadav—100 runs on the board and 50 up for Rory Burns.

Long batting day vibes.

Enter Shardul Thakur. He comes around the wicket and pitches one on a good length and it goes through with the angle. The next one lands on an identical spot on the pitch, but it moves away ever so slightly off the seam. It’s a jaffa on a flat pitch, catching the outside edge of Burns’s bat who is caught behind. “0.7 degrees swing + 0.7 degrees seam, both away. Too good from Thakur,” says Cricviz. Indeed.

That wicket and Thakur’s sixover spell wasn’t anything like Bumrah’s manic fireworks that was to follow in the second session, but what it did so is that critical thing that makes or breaks the match for a team— the uncanny knack of picking a wicket when it’s most needed and breaking a partnership that’s threatening to take the game away. It’s a trait he has carried forward from white ball cricket to what is still early days in his Test career.

Thakur got the wicket of the highest scorer in the first innings, Olllie Pope and in the second he got Joe Root—in middle of a purple patch if there was one—and for those spoils alone he had more than delivered the assigned fifth bowler’s role to perfection.

Add his twin fifties in the match and he is the man around whom this match revolved, despite the superlative performances from Rohit Sharma and Bumrah. He would have made a compelling candidate for ma the match.

Such is the depth in tale Indian cricket today, Kohli cannot guarantee Thakur a manent spot.

He will turn 30 soon doesn’t bowl in the high 130s he once did with the red ball no matter how his Test ca progresses from here, these moments for him to treas when #Lordthakur becam trending hashtag to head India’s sweetest mom through five days of tenacity skills at The Oval.

After his all-round heroi the Gabba earlier this year, kur could not get a game this series. But he would lik believe he has done enough earned his stripes to push f more regular berth in the p ing eleven.

When you think of the that England could have India out of the match at 127/ Day 1, had it not been for kur’s imperious counterat 57 (36), it puts in perspectiv value of his batting succes was a similar story in the bane Test where his 123-r partnership with Washin Sundar kept India alive in Test and the series.

“His biggest asset is his t perament with the bat,” said ting coach Vikram Rathore. is playing in his 4th Test m and has already played t very important innings in short span. That shows he ability, and he can play a big for Indian cricket in com times.”

Through his two half ce ries at The Oval, Thakur bec only the fourth Indian no. achieve such a feat and its first time for India’s tail to registered three 50 plus scor a Test series since 2017. M such quirky stats have b scripted by Thakur’s blade may now want to believe a motion in batting order is in offing.

The Indian captain post appreciation tweet in Mar each time Thakur delivers. “maanla re Thakur,” expect to put that out yet another t