India vs Australia: “Got lucky with Steve Smith’s wicket,” says Shardul Thakur

India secured a consolation win in the 3rd ODI against Australia yesterday at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. Both sides made a plethora of changes to their sides because of the fact that the match was an inconsequential one in the context of the series with only pride at stake. India went for a revamped bowling attack as they brought in T Natarajan, Shardul Thakur and Kuldeep Yadav.

The bowling side was given the task of defending 302 in what seemed to be about par, if not below par, on the surface. For the first time in the series, India got a wicket in the Powerplay courtesy of T Natarajan. But the pick of the bowlers was Shardul Thakur who picked up three wickets including the all-important wicket of the centurion in the previous two matches and batting ace Steve Smith.

‘Tried to keep Australia off pulls and cuts’ – Thakur

Speaking to the press after a good outing in the 3rd ODI, Shardul Thakur spoke about his plans for the Australian batsmen. “If you see the series, Australia players have played their pulls and cut shots a lot. I just tried to keep them off those shots and make them play in straighter lines. It worked for me,” the pacer said.

Talking about getting the big wicket of Steve Smith but having him feather one to the keeper, “I feel sometimes we get lucky. When Steve Smith was batting, we had planned to bowl at the stumps, and he just edged it down the leg side. So that was kind of lucky that way but yeah I would appreciate that wicket. He’s a top player and to get him early in the innings while defending 302 I think it was a huge wicket,” Thakur said.

The 29-year-old was also all praise for T Natarajan, “He’s good. He’s done well in the IPL. He came back pretty well in this game, that shows he’s got a big character, and we need players like this – who can keep coming back. In white-ball formats, you are going to get hit as a bowler. But what’s important is you come back, you bowl again, develop that confidence and take it forward from there,” Thakur signed off.

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