Asia Cup 2023, IND vs BAN: Shardul Thakur ‘Pretty Happy to Get Three Wickets’ Against Bangladesh

Shardul Thakur got to bowl 10 overs and was the standout bowler for India with 3-65 in the Super Four match of the Asia Cup against Bangladesh, striking twice in the Power-Play and then ending a 101-run partnership by taking out captain Shakib Al Hasan on Friday.

Shardul dismissed Tanzid, who dragged in to his stumps while trying to pull a short ball. Anamul Haque Bijoy, playing in his first ODI since December 2022, became Shardul’s second victim when he top-edged a pull to wicketkeeper KL Rahul, leaving Bangladesh at 28/3 in 5.4 overs.

India could have got Bangladesh into more trouble in the 10th over if debutant Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav hadn’t dropped catches to get Mehidy Hasan out off Shardul’s bowling. Shardul gthugh managed to come back with the ball as Shakib chopped the ball onto his stumps.

Asia Cup 2023 Super 4: IND vs BAN – Live Score 

“Pretty happy to get three wickets in this game (against Bangladesh). Against Pakistan, I wasn’t doing too great with a bit of fever and carrying that sickness throughout that game. But after bowling 10 overs today, I’m pretty happy,” he said in a mid-innings chat with the broadcasters.

With India set a target of 266, Shardul feels if fielders hadn’t dropped catches or suffered plenty of misfields, they could have reduced Bangladesh to an even lower total.

“I think the pitch was on the slower side and they did a good job of scoring 265. A better fielding effort from our side and we could have kept them down to 220 or 230. Let’s see how we bat,” he said.

Shardul’s comments also came from the understanding of batting being tough under lights in Colombo.

“When the wicket is slow and not much is happening, you have to try something different. It’s a stiff target. If we get a good opening partnership, I think we’ll chase it down comfortably,” he added.

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In a conversation on JioCinema’s InsidersLive, Abhishek Nayar, the former India and Mumbai all-rounder, shared an interesting anecdote on how Shardul’s batting skills could come in handy in the chase of 266.

“That’s Shardul Thakur; you can expect wickets with him when he has the ball in hand. When he has the bat in hand, you never know. He could end up batting as well as Rohit. Interestingly, In the Mumbai circuit, he used to compare himself to Rohit Sharma.”

“He used to say, ‘I hit pull shots just like Rohit!’ He actually pulls well and that’s how he compared himself. Hopefully today we see Shardul Thakur with a 3-fer, a 50, and a Man of the Match.”

(With inputs from Agencies)