‘Lord’ Shardul Thakur answered the calls of the billion Indian fans with the bat on Day 3 of the ongoing WTC Final 2023 against Australia and saved the team from the ignominy of conceding a follow-on, keeping alive the hopes of the fans of India escaping with a draw.
India lost KS Bharat on the second ball of Day 3. But after that, Thakur joined Ajinkya Rahane in the middle at The Oval and the pair forged a terrific partnership that allowed India to make a comeback in the match.
Taking India from 152/6, Thakur and Rahane conjured up an inspirational stand of 109 runs in 145 balls with both the batters playing some attacking, counter-punching strokes. After Rahane’s dismissal, Shardul brought up his half-century. Thakur was eventually dismissed by Cameron Green for 51 off 109 balls, scored with the help of 6 fours.
Shardul Thakur and Ajinkya Rahane‘s runs helped India avoid the follow-on, which will push the match into the fourth innings as well.
This was the 4th half-century of Shardul Thakur’s Test career
3 of them have come here at The Oval. He hit twin fifties in India’s last match here at The Oval in 2021 against England.
These 3 fifties in consecutive innings at The Oval put Shardul in an elite, small list alongside Sir Don Bradman and Allan Border.
Visiting batsmen with the most consecutive 50-plus scores at The Oval (Tests):
3 – Sir Don Bradman (1930-1934)
3 – Allan Border (1985-1989)
3 – Shardul Thakur (2021-2023)
Meanwhile, India were bowled out for 296 runs and conceded a lead of 173 runs. In their second innings, Australia have David Warner early, Mohammed Siraj, as he did in the first innings, providing the first breakthrough for India.
