Indian fast bowler Shardul Thakur was struggling for 186 for six when he came to bat in the first innings of the fourth Test against Australia. He had in mind the words of coach Ravi Shastri in which he said that if you perform in this country, you will get a lot of respect from the audience. On the third day of the match on Sunday, Shardul scored 67 off the eighth innings and shared 123 for the seventh wicket with Washington Sundar (62) to put India in a better position.
Thakur also made some stunning shots in his innings. India were bowled out for 336 in reply to Australia’s 369 in the first innings. At the end of the day’s play, Australia were 21 for no loss in the second innings, giving them a 54-run lead. “The situation was difficult when I went on the field and I will not deny it,” Shardul said after the match. The audience was cheering the Australian bowlers. But I remembered what our coach Ravi Shastri said before the ODI series.
“If you perform in this country, you will get respect (from the audience),” he said. The fast bowler said, “The coach said that people will love you because of your performance and the only thing on my mind was that I should get respect from the audience. “It will be helpful for my team after the day’s play. This is the biggest positive for me,” Shardul said. There were only two things on my mind. The spectators will sound but if I bat well they will appreciate me too.
Along with the audience, the Indian dressing room also stood up and greeted him after he got out. Shardul said he loves batting and was looking forward to the opportunity. He said, ‘I am capable of batting. I practice whenever the throw-down specialist on the team has time. These are the moments for which you work hard. Can do something for the team that awaits her. At the time of batting, the crease bus had the same idea to spend as much time on the crease as possible so that runs could be made and the run gap could be reduced in the first innings.
He said he benefited a lot from touring Australia with the ‘A’ team. He said, “Team Anne’s tour is for the second line team. It helped a lot. We came here in 2016. Circumstances are not very difficult when you come to the national team when you play in that team.
