After a 3-0 ODI series triumph over New Zealand, India captain Rohit Sharma lauded Shardul Thakur, who grabbed the key away wicket to relieve some of the strain on his team, Because of his exceptional dedication with the ball and bat every time he was called upon, teammates dubbed him the “magician” on the squad. Through the centuries, from epilogues Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill.
Shardul Thakur and Kuldeep Yadav each took three wickets to help India defeat New Zealand by 90 runs in the third and final ODI of the series on Tuesday at the Holkar Cricket Ground in Indore. Shardul took wickets of Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham, and Glenn Phillips while giving 45 runs in six overs.
In a post-match presentation, Rohit said “We bowled pretty well, stuck to our plans and held our nerve. Shardul has been doing it for a while. Teammates call him a magician and he came and delivered yet again. He just needs to get more games under his belt,”
In a high-scoring thriller, India won the first ODI by 12 runs in Hyderabad, while their seam helped them grab eight wickets in the second over in Raipur.
“I thought in the last six games we played, we did most parts right and that is the key in 50-over games. We were consistent too. Without Siraj and Shami I knew we wanted to give chances to people on the bench. We wanted to get Chahal and Umran in the mix. We wanted to see how they react under pressure. I know we had the runs on the board, but I don’t think any score is safe here,” While praising Kuldeep Yadav the captain said “Every time I have given Kuldeep the ball, he has given us crucial breakthroughs. Wrist spinners tend to get better with game time.”
Shubman extended his purple streak at the beginning of the innings, hitting his second career century and second in the series. He had 112 hits in 78 balls, His knocks had 13 fours and five sixes. He hit 143.58, and the inning on Tuesday lifted his series total to 360.
He was voted “Player of the series” for his performance with the Willows, which featured his first double-hundred of the season in Game 1.
Rohit stated “Gill’s approach is quite similar in every game. He doesn’t carry any emotional baggage from his previous innings and wants to start afresh every game. For a youngster still finding his feet in international cricket, it is a great attitude to have. He could have taken things lightly but he is cut from a different cloth,”
“Today’s hundred means a lot to me. I’ve been batting well, so it was just about going that extra mile. The pitch was good today. Honestly, we don’t talk much about the rankings. Our dressing room discussions are mainly around doing the right things on the field. Australia are a quality team and things won’t be easy for us but I am pretty sure we will be up for it (Border-Gavaskar Trophy),” He added.
“You will see a better cricketer and performing better” – Kapil Dev
