Watch: Shardul Thakur produces epic double-wicket over, dismisses Duckett, Brook as Nitish Reddy, Rishabh Pant take stunners

Star India National Cricket Team all-rounder Shardul Thakur displayed his 'lordship' on the fifth and final day of the Test series opener against the England National Cricket Team on Tuesday, June 24.

Shardul Thakur produced an epic double-wicket over to send back Ben Duckett and Harry Brook to help the India National Cricket Team make a good comeback in the match.

Also Read: Watch: Prasidh Krishna bamboozles Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope with stunners as KL Rahul grabs sharp catch

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All-rounder Shardul Thakur underutilised in the first innings

Thakur is making his comeback to the Indian Test setup after missing out on their previous tour to Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.

He made his return to the side on the back of a stunning all-round performance for Mumbai in domestic cricket. Thakur was not highly impressive in the two unofficial Test matches against the England Lions, but he displayed his brilliance in the intra-squad match.

Shardul Thakur's performance seemed to have impressed the team management, and he was slotted in the playing XI over Nitish Kumar Reddy, as Gautam Gambhir also might have felt the need for a better bowler as an all-rounder.

However, in India's first innings with the ball, skipper Shubman Gill didn't show much faith in Shardul Thakur. Out of 100.4 overs that Team India bowled, Thakur bowled just six at Headingley in Leeds.

Thakur wasn't utilised well by Gill, and whenever he was handed the ball, he was expensive and unfortunately leaked 38 runs in his six overs.

Shardul Thakur shines in the 4th innings

Meanwhile, things were quite different in the fourth innings of the match. Shubman Gill showed faith in Thakur, and the all-rounder repaid it by delivering a brilliant performance.

In his first few overs, Thakur didn't look threatening, but out of nowhere, he produced an amazing double-wicket over to dismiss centurion Ben Duckett and Harry Brook.

On the third ball of the 55th over, Thakur bowled a full-length delivery to Ben Duckett, who hit it towards Nitish Kumar Reddy at covers with the Indian fielder taking a good catch to send back the Englishman for 149.

On the very next ball, Thakur bowled a half volley on leg-stump to Harry Brook, who walked towards the ball, tried to glance it on the move, but only managed to edge it, and Rishabh Pant took a stunning diving catch to dismiss the batter for a duck.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Michael Atherton lauded Thakur for ending a brilliant innings of Ben Duckett and dismissing Harry Brook for a duck to help India stage a comeback.

"That's a massive wicket..Thakur needed to produce something in this game, scarcely used by Gill, and now, at a critical moment, he takes a wicket. Catching has been important in this match, they haven't always stuck but this one has. A brilliant innings from Duckett. He's not got England home, but he's got them a long way down the line."

"This has been an amazing game of cricket. Brook can't believe it. India are right back in it," Michael Atherton added

Watch: Shardul Thakur's epic double-wicket over stuns England

LORD THAKUR to the rescue! 🤩#ShardulThakur first ends #BenDuckett’s stellar knock and then gets #HarryBrook on the very next ball! 👏🏻

Is this the opening #TeamIndia was waiting for in this Test? 🇮🇳#ENGvIND 1st Test, Day 5 | LIVE NOW | Streaming on JioHotstar 👉… pic.twitter.com/b7YW8ME7Q1

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) June 24, 2025