IND vs WI | Would be glad to contribute with bat, admits Shardul Thakur
Pacer Shardul Thakur believes that he has more to offer with the bat and he would love to practice more and help his team with vital runs whenever needed. Thakur scored 17 runs off 6 balls and applied finishing touches to a brilliant chase by India which lead to a 2-1 series win over West Indies.
India won the ODI series against West Indies 2-1 as they chased the target of 316 with 4 wickets in hand an more than an over to spare. Two big positives that came out from the win were the composure showed by Ravindra Jadeja under pressure and the hitting of Shardul Thakur after Kohli's wicket. Thakur smashed 2 fours and a six as he showed that he is no mug with the bat. Walking out to bat after the skipper departed, India still needed 20 odd runs from three overs and things could have gone wrong as nervousness was creeping in. But Thakur threw caution to the wind and his cameo helped India win comfortably.
"If I would think about Kohli getting out, I would be under pressure. But the important thing was that there was a set batsman. The whole idea was to meet the ball. It was one of those days when I could connect well and luckily it came off," Thakur said after the game.
India's batting depth in ODI cricket has always been a debatable issue especially when both Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal play. India then have to rely a lot on the batting of Bhuvaneshwar Kumar who himself has been off-colour. In these circumstances, this innings from Thakur showed that he can contribute with the bat too as and when needed.
"I know I have the talent to bat. If I can contribute these 20-25 runs when the team needs me, I would be glad. Going ahead, I would want to practice more. I would be more than glad to contribute with the bat."
Jadeja also played really well for his 39* off 31 balls and he has come of age as a batsman ever since that knock in the World Cup semifinal against New Zealand that went in vain. Even after the wicket of Kohli, Jadeja did not let the Windies get into any momentum and he played patiently as he knew he was the set batsman. It is a positive sign for himself and for Indian cricket that he played maturely and returned unbeaten with his side winning the game.
"There was a bit of pressure, I hadn't batted a lot in the series, but here I was under pressure to win a game. Virat just asked me to play my natural game. The score was reflecting on the scene, so I knew the situation well," Jadeja asserted after the game.
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