Talk about love affair and there is hardly better than any like Shardul Thakur and the Oval. The Indian Test all-rounder smashed his 4th Test fifty and third at the Oval in the IND vs AUS WTC Final 2023. In fact, it was his hat-trick of a half-century at the venue. And that took him to a unique record that prolific Indian batters like Virat Kohli will also be envious of. He emulated two of the greatest Test batsmen Don Bradman and Allan Donald with the hat-trick of fifties at Oval. His knock helped India reduce the deficit.
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Shardul Thakur at Oval:
- 57 vs England
- 61 vs England
- 51 vs Australia
With India down to 152/6 and Ajinkya Rahane playing a brilliant rescue knock, they needed another batter to stand up and support.
Shardul did just that. With Ajinkya Rahane, he stitched together a 109-run stand to delay the inevitable. Rahane was the aggressor, scoring at over a run a ball while Shardul soaked in the pressure and hitting only the odd loose deliveries.
He waited patiently, taking 109 balls to score 51 runs that included six boundaries. But more importantly, he spent 156 minutes on the crease, only second to Ajinkya Rahane (254 minutes).
Shardul also did the trick with the ball. He has 7 wickets at the Oval including two in the WTC Final. Interestingly, his wickets also include Steve Smith and Joe Root — two of the greatest Test batters. And Shardul clean bowled both of them.
However, his efforts along with Rahane’s were not good enough for India. It did delay the inevitable but ultimately India perished for 296 handing over a huge 173-run first-innings lead to Australia.
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