Shardul Thakur Discusses New Zealand Grounds, Ross Taylor And India U19 World Cup Team

Indian bowler Shardul Thakur has shown some impressive glimpses of himself on the current ongoing tour of New Zealand. While his exploits were crucial for India to win the five-match T20 series 5-0, in the ODIs the Kiwis have dominated Indian bowlers.

One batsman in particular who has troubled the Indian bowling unit the most is Ross Taylor. Team India subsequently failed to get his wicket in the two ODIs, he played so far, and as a result, he has played crucial knocks to help his team to victory in both games.

In the ODI series, Taylor has scored 182 runs in total, and Thakur has acknowledged the threat that the experienced batsman possesses.

Imperative to get Ross Taylor’s wicket early in the game: Shardul Thakur

Speaking ahead of India’s third game versus New Zealand, Thakur revealed that the Indian team will try to dismiss Taylor early because once he gets going, he becomes very difficult to play against.

“Ross is batting really well. He can play like God on the legside once he is in. In the last two ODIs, there were chances of us dismissing him, but we did not grab our chances. It is important to send him back early in the innings. The opening partnership has been crucial for them. They are getting off to a good start and it has reaped rewards for them,” said Thakur. 

He further admitted that it is a little difficult to play cricket in New Zealand, due to the ground dimensions there.

“The dimensions here are quite different. It is important to understand them when you come to New Zealand. Every ground has a shorter boundary on one side and bowling plans change according to them. It is difficult to play cricket here because of the ground dimensions,” added the 28-year-old. 

Thakur lauds Yashasvi Jaiswal’s performance at the U19 World Cup:

He also spoke about the Indian U19 World Cup team as they lost in the final to Bangladesh. Thakur spoke highly of Yashasvi Jaiswal, who scored 400 runs in the tournament and finished as the highest run-scorer in the mega event.

“It was disappointing to see India not lifting the U-19 title. Our team showed great performance in the entire tournament. Yashasvi played domestic cricket with me this year. He has been in remarkable form in his entire career. I believe he is on the right track,” said the right-arm pacer. 

India will play the final game of the ODI series in New Zealand on Tuesday, at the Bay Oval. Then, they will play in a two-match Test series beginning from 21st February in Wellington.