IND vs SA: " Trying To Hit The Spot"-Shardul Thakur Reveals How He Bagged His Maiden Test Fifer

Shardul Thakur registered his best Test figures as he picked up 7 for 61 to bowl out South Africa for 229 on day 2 of the second test in Johannesburg. India were bowled out for 202 and the hosts took a slender lead of 27 which was overtaken by India by the end of the day when they finished 85/2 leading by 58 runs in their second innings.

Shardul Thakur took advantage of the uneven bounce in the pitch as he made the ball talk much to the discomfort of the Protean batsmen. After the day’s play, he spoke to the reporters saying that he was using the cracks in the pitch from where the ball was either kicking off or staying low.

“See both the venues, even when we played in Centurion and here in Joburg (Johannesburg) at the Wanderers, there is and there was some help in the pitch, so all you had to do is keep coming hard at the batsman and bowl in the right spots, I was trying to do the same,” Thakur said.

The Indian all-rounder further said that the match is in a tricky position and the visitors are not the favourites to win the match yet. The uneven bounce in the pitch will open up further on day 3 which will be an interesting observation.

The Match Situation Is Tricky: Shardul Thakur

“The current match-situation, if you see it’s tricky. The lead that we take from here and the bigger the target we set that is good, because as the game progresses and we all know that the last two days, it is not that easy to bat on the pitch. So, from our team’s point of view, the bigger target we set, and take the game long, that is good, because there is a lot of time left in the game” said Shardul.

He concluded his interaction by saying that though he registered his best Test figures, his best is yet to come.

“It is my best figure, but the best is always yet to come, I would say,” quipped Shardul.

Cheteshwar Pujara (35*) and Ajinkya Rahane (11) are unbeaten at the crease having added 41 runs together. The onus will be on both of them to give a good start to India on day 3 so that the lower order can capitalise.

Also Read: IND vs SA: Virat Kohli Can Show A Bit More Patience- Aakash Chopra