Indian captain Rohit Sharma was tremendously happy after India’s dramatic series triumph against New Zealand and named Player of the Match Shardul Thakur a “magician”. Thakur has been an important bowler for India, consistently producing wickets at vital times. He did the same in Indore against New Zealand, taking three key wickets to turn the momentum of the game.
The third and final ODI in Indore was a high-scoring affair, with both sides amassing over 670 runs. However, India finally won the series 3-0 with a 90-run triumph against the visitors. Shubman Gill and captain Rohit scored centuries to give India a great start before Hardik Pandya (54 off 38) and Thakur rounded things off impressively.
At the post-match presentation, Rohit lauded the team’s effort and singled out Shardul, who took three wickets with the ball after hitting 25 off 17.
“In the previous six ODIs, we’ve done the majority of things correctly. We have a consistent approach with the bat and ball. Without Siraj and Shami, we wanted to give other players on the bench a chance. We wanted to include Chahal and Umran in the mix and put them under duress. We had runs on the board, but no total is secure on this sort of terrain. We adhered to our ideas and kept our cool. Shardul has been doing this for a long, so some refer to him as a ‘Magician.’ “Rohit said.
Notably, India has had a strong start to their home season, having swept both Sri Lanka and New Zealand in one-day internationals. They will now play New Zealand in a three-match T20I series, although the team will be significantly different from the ODI squad due to the absence of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Mohammad Siraj, and Mohammad Shami.
