SA vs IND | Twitter reacts to Shardul Thakur getting nasty bump following Coetzee ‘headshot’

12/26/2023

Bouncers always add to the thrill of Test cricket but when these short deliveries cause injuries, it ruins all the ecstasy. Something similar happened with Shardul Thakur in the second session after he was hit in the helmet by a bouncer from Gerald Coetzee, resulting in a bump on the forehead.

The South African pacers were all over the Indian batters in the first couple of sessions under the overcast conditions. As the bowlers made full use of the conditions on offer, the Indian batters were struggling to just maintain the status quo. As if the conditions were not doing a good enough job, India were struck by something even bigger as Shardul Thakur suffered the full brunt of the Proteas pace when he needed an extensive concussion test following a nasty Coetzee bouncer.

It was in the third ball of the 44th over when Thakur was late to react on a short-pitched ripper that was dished on the fourth stump channel. As he missed the ball altogether, the Indian all rounder suffered a big thud on the protective gear. The Indian physio was immediately summoned for a mandatory concussion test as per the protocols. As Thakur took off his helmet, the force at which he had been hit was evident. There was a bump on his forehead despite the ball only hitting the helmet.

The physio was seen spending time with the Mumbaikar and asked several questions to complete the test. He also rubbed the forehead of the batter several times before asking for a change in the helmet. It almost took a while before Thakur could get back to face the riveting Proteas bowlers.

The Twitter community was quick to react and expressed their thoughts on this situation.

Scares more!

pic.twitter.com/V68KCpVJkS
— Travis Head (@TravisHead8441) December 26, 2023

Deadly bouncer!

A nasty bouncer from Gerald Coetzee hurt Shardul Thakur. pic.twitter.com/K6xbsbEwuf
— Jay. (@Jay_Cricket18) December 26, 2023

Tough delivery!

A fiery bouncer by Coetzee hits on helmet of Shardul Thakur.#INDvsSA #TestCricket pic.twitter.com/aIS3muhefx
— Cric Krishna (@Krishnak0109) December 26, 2023

Not otday!

Upcoming glimpses from the bat of Lord Shardul 🔥 #INDvsSA #shardulthakur pic.twitter.com/K9bx2L3Nro
— nalayk_balak (@1066Singh) December 26, 2023

Lord he is!

Ravi Shastri said, "they call Shardul Thakur as 'Lord' in the dressing room".#INDvsSA #ShubmanGill #Sivakarthikeyan pic.twitter.com/oMrJ1R2WZK
— Jagbir Chahal (@JagbirChahal6) December 26, 2023

Better luck next time!

Well played shardul you played better than our selfless openers #INDvsSA pic.twitter.com/IjueG0eEPX
— Shivam 🚩 (@shivam_pal_18) December 26, 2023

Great fight!

A fighting innings by Shardul Thakur. 👏

Took the blow on the head then on the forearms but still he continued to play.

Lord Shardul Thakur is a fighter, Well played. ❤️🫡#ShardulThakur #INDvsSA #SAvIND #SAvsIND #BoxingDayTest pic.twitter.com/gj2ISU0foe
— Saabir Zafar (@Saabir_Saabu01) December 26, 2023

Hahaha!

Rabada ne Kabada kar diya. Although special effort by Shardul Thakur. Lord for a reason. #INDvsSA #BoxingDay #BoxingDayTest #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/mfS7T2CMED
— Ajay (@ajayp_16) December 26, 2023

Agreed!