IND vs ENG | Shardul Thakur deserved the Man of the Match as well, opines Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma scored a brilliant century against England in the second innings of the fourth Test at The Oval. The Indian opener’s maiden overseas century laid the platform for India to claim a 368-run lead against the hosts. India eventually went on to defeat England by 157 runs with excellent bowling performances by the bowlers. Rohit Sharma was adjudged the Man of the Match for his well-crafted hundred.

Thakur scored a crucial 57 from 36 to guide India to 191 in their first-innings. The all-rounder then removed a well-set Ollie Pope with the ball during England's innings, before adding another 60 with the bat in his second outing. The key scalps of Rory Burns and Jor Root on Day 5 rounded off a fine all-round performance.

Considering his game-defining contributions, Rohit Sharma stated that Shardul Thakur deserved the Man of the Match award too. He further added that Shardul Thakur loves to bat and he is working hard on his batting technique.

"How can we forget his batting, to come in and score 50 off just 31 balls in the first innings says a lot, he loves his batting and he has worked hard on it, I have seen him over the years," Rohit told bcci.tv. "He wants to prove a point that he can bat and can give us momentum-changing innings as well. Yes, I got the Man of the Match, but I really feel he should have been part of that as well."

Rohit Sharma lauded Thakur’s performance with the ball on the final day when India was in need of early wickets. Shardul gave India a breakthrough by removing Rory Burns, after the openers had put on a century partnership. He then went on to dismiss Joe Root, to put an end to England’s hope of winning the Test.

"I thought Shardul's was a match-winning effort," Rohit added. "To be honest, he deserved the Man of the Match as well for the performance he put. A crucial breakthrough for the team when England were 100 without loss, getting that crucial breakthrough was very important and then getting the wicket of Joe Root as well, he came in and got the wicket."

The fifth Test will be played at Old Trafford, Manchester. beginning September 10.