Unheralded seam bowler Shardul Thakur turned out to be an unlikely hero with a career-best 7 for 61 to keep India on even keel against South Africa on an intriguing second day of the second Test here on Tuesday.
Standing at 5 feet 7 inches and with a physique which is an antithesis of what is perceived to be a fast bowler’s body, the skiddy Thakur (17.5-3-61-7) landed crucial blows at opportune moments to send the Proteas packing for 229 in their first innings.
It was his effort that nullified India’s seemingly inadequate first innings score of 202 with the lead being restricted to 27 and then erased by visitors as they reached 85 for 2 at stumps, losing stand-in skipper KL Rahul (8) and Mayank Agarwal’s (23) wicket.The two under-fire seniors Cheteshwar Pujara (35 batting) and Ajinkya Rahane (11 batting) were at the crease and for a change showed lot of positivity and intent. India now lead by 58 runs.
Shardul means ‘Tiger’ in Sanskrit and his teammates teasingly call him ‘Lord Beefy’ which incidentally is legendary all-rounder Ian Botham’s nickname.
The ‘Tiger’ was in a mood to hunt inside the ‘Bull Ring’ under sunny the Johannesburg skyline and he did exactly that, coming up with a performance which is over and above what even coach Rahul Dravid would have expected.
On a pitch with spongy, tennis ball like bounce, a total of 180 to 200 will be an onerous fourth innings chase for South Africa as the match is expected to end well within four days if the weather doesn’t play spoilsport.The day started nicely for South Africa as their dogged skipper Dean Elgar (28 off 120 balls) was happy to play the ugly waiting game while allowing his younger colleague Keegan Peterson (62 off 118 balls) to play an attacking role.It was going well in a stand of 74 as South Africa reached 88 for one before Thakur was brought into the attack in the 34th over as the second change.
With Mohammed Siraj bowling from a shorter run-up and not able to exert himself fully due to a hamstring injury, the man from Maharashtra’s Palghar district had to take more responsibility with the team virtually one bowler short.Mohammed Shami (2/52 in 21 overs) and Jasprit Bumrah (1/49 in 21 overs) once again bowled their hearts out, beat the outside edges without much luck before Thakur came into the picture and dealt three blows in quick succession just before lunch.
