India vs South Africa: Visitors stretch lead to 58 after Shardul Thakur shines with seven-wicket haul

Standing
at
5
feet
7
inches
and
with
a
physique
which
is
an
antithesis
of
what
is
perceived
to
be
a
fast
bowler’s
body,
the
skiddy
Thakur
(17.5-3-61-7)
landed
crucial
blows
at
opportune
moments
to
send
the
Proteas
packing
for
229
in
their
first
innings.

1

51800

It
was
his
effort
that
nullified
India’s
seemingly
inadequate
first
innings
score
of
202
with
the
lead
being
restricted
to
27
and
then
erased
by
visitors
as
they
reached
85
for
2
at
stumps,
losing
stand-in
skipper
KL
Rahul
(8)
and
Mayank
Agarwal’s
(23)
wicket.

The
two
under-fire
seniors
Cheteshwar
Pujara
(35
batting)
and
Ajinkya
Rahane
(11
batting)
were
at
the
crease
and
for
a
change
showed
lot
of
positivity
and
intent.
India
now
lead
by
58
runs.

Shardul
means
‘Tiger’ in
Sanskrit
and
his
teammates
teasingly
call
him
‘Lord
Beefy’
which
incidentally
is
legendary
all-rounder
Ian
Botham’s
nickname.

The
‘Tiger’
was
in
a
mood
to
hunt
inside
the
‘Bull
Ring’
under
sunny
the
Johannesburg
skyline
and
he
did
exactly
that,
coming
up
with
a
performance
which
is
over
and
above
what
even
coach
Rahul
Dravid
would
have
expected.

On
a
pitch
with
spongy,
tennis
ball
like
bounce,
a
total
of
180
to
200
will
be
an
onerous
fourth
innings
chase
for
South
Africa
as
the
match
is
expected
to
end
well
within
four
days
if
the
weather
doesn’t
play
spoilsport.

The
day
started
nicely
for
South
Africa
as
their
dogged
skipper
Dean
Elgar
(28
off
120
balls)
was
happy
to
play
the
ugly
waiting
game
while
allowing
his
younger
colleague
Keegan
Peterson
(62
off
118
balls)
to
play
an
attacking
role.

It
was
going
well
in
a
stand
of
74
as
South
Africa
reached
88
for
one
before
Thakur
was
brought
into
the
attack
in
the
34th
over
as
the
second
change.

With
Mohammed
Siraj
bowling
from
a
shorter
run-up
and
not
able
to
exert
himself
fully
due
to
a
hamstring
injury,
the
man
from
Maharashtra’s
Palghar
district
had
to
take
more
responsibility
with
the
team
virtually
one
bowler
short.

Mohammed
Shami
(2/52
in
21
overs)
and
Jasprit
Bumrah
(1/49
in
21
overs)
once
again
bowled
their
hearts
out,
beat
the
outside
edges
without
much
luck
before
Thakur
came
into
the
picture
and
dealt
three
blows
in
quick
succession
just
before
lunch.

Under-Rated
skill
sets
but
very
effective

Thakur,
when
he
burst
into
the
domestic
scene,
was
more
of
a
135
kmph
plus
bowler
but
over
the
years,
he
is
bowling
in
the
120-130
kmph
band
but
possesses
a
mean
outswinger
and
a
lethal
off-cutter
delivered
with
scrambled
seam
and
grip
of
a
slower
delivery.

In
case
of
a
scrambled
seam,
the
stitched
part
of
the
ball
doesn’t
hit
the
ground
and
if
the
ball’s
shine
is
maintained
well,
which
the
Indian
team
did
diligently,
it
lands
on
the
skin
(red
part)
and
starts
skidding
at
a
pace
which
is
more
than
what
the
batters
can
apprehend.

“Since
he
has
a
habit
of
bowling
a
lot
of
off-breaks
(slower
delivery
for
pacers
with
tweak
of
finger)
in
limited
overs
cricket,
he
is
using
that
skill
effectively
in
Tests
also.
He
might
bowl
at
130
kmph
but
with
the
scrambled
seam,
he
hurries
the
batter
a
touch
more),” his
childhood
coach
Dinesh
Lad
told
PTI
from
Mumbai.

The
delivery
that
got
Peterson
was
a
conventional
outswinger
which
wasn’t
at
drivable
length
and
the
batter
went
for
a
non-existent
punch
through
covers
only
to
land
in
second
slip
Agarwal’s
palms.

Before
that,
Peterson’s
left-handed
skipper
Elgar
got
one
that
moved
late
taking
the
outside
edge.

Similarly,
in
the
second
session,
just
when
Temba
Bavuma
(51
off
60
balls)
and
Kyle
Verreynne
(21)
added
58
and
looked
like
heading
for
a
sizeable
lead,
Thakur
produced
a
fuller
one
with
scrambled
seam
that
landed
on
the
‘fifth
off
stump’
and
cut
back
sharply
to
trap
the
young
keeper
leg
before.

In
the
case
of
Bavuma,
the
delivery
was
fired
towards
his
rib
cage
and
was
drifting
down
before
Rishabh
Pant
took
an
extraordinary
catch
down
the
leg-side.
He
again
came
back
in
the
final
session
to
wrap
up
the
innings.

Thakur
doesn’t
have
the
lethal
yorker
of
Bumrah
or
the
top
quality
skill
sets
of
Shami
or
the
scorching
pace
of
Siraj.
But
he
is
more
than
the
sum
total
of
his
parts,
in
this
case,
the
skills
which
make
him
special.

A
contentious
caught
behind

Out
of
Shardul’s
seven
wickets,
the
dismissal
of
Rassie
van
der
Dussen
did
create
some
controversy
as
TV
replays
turned
out
to
be
inconclusive
whether
Thakur’s
off-cutter,
that
literally
had
the
batter
cut
into
half,
was
taken
cleanly
by
Pant.

One
angle
seemed
to
suggest
that
it
was
picked
on
the
bounce
and
it
was
learnt
that
home
team
captain
Elgar
visited
the
match
referee’s
room
to
have
a
chat.
In
2011,
Mahendra
Singh
Dhoni
in
an
exemplary
show
of
sportsmanship
had
called
back
Ian
Bell
after
the
batter
was
adjudged
run-out
in
the
post-lunch
session.

On
Tuesday,
with
the
match
hanging
in
balance,
no
such
favours
were
doled
out
by
the
current
team.