“People call him magician”: Rohit Sharma accedes to Shardul Thakur’s game-changing ability in international cricket

India captain Rohit Sharma acknowledged ending a three-year long dry spell of ODI centuries by scoring a fantastic 101 (85) at a strike rate of 118.82 in the recently concluded third ODI against New Zealand in Indore.

Although it would have been pretty convenient for Sharma to practice modesty upon being asked about a personal milestone, it was refreshing to hear a leading cricketer talk about achieving an individual feat to sort of get the monkey off his back.

Sharma’s 30th ODI century also saw equaling with former Australia captain Ricky Ponting in the list of most centuries in ODI cricket. While another century will make Sharma only the third cricketer to score more than 30 ODI centuries, he is still a long way behind his predecessor Virat Kohli (46) and Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar (49).

“Today’s hundred means a lot to me. I’ve been batting well. So, it was just about going that extra mile,” Sharma told Star Sports during the post-match presentation ceremony after India whitewashed New Zealand 3-0.

Rohit Sharma accedes to Shardul Thakur’s game-changing ability in international cricket

“Game Changerz in the house, baby” are the first words one listens in singer-actor Jass Manak’s single track titled ‘Boss’ (2018). Although “Game Changerz” in the song refers to the music director, it would be entirely justified to dedicate the same line in cricketing terms to India all-rounder Shardul Thakur upon his arrival on a cricket ground.

Playing his 34th ODI on Tuesday, Thakur not only became the 40th Indian cricketer to pick 50 wickets in the format but also managed to bag the Player of the Match award ahead of two centurions. Thakur’s maiden ODI match award was handed to him for the sheer impact which he created in both the innings.

Contributing in a winning effort, Thakur followed scoring 25 (17) in the third powerplay by picking three wickets in the second innings. Not just any other wickets, Thakur sucked all momentum out of New Zealand’s innings by dismissing the likes of Daryl Mitchell (24), Tom Latham (0) and Glenn Phillips (5) within a span of 10 balls.

With New Zealand having almost scored half the runs at the halfway mark at the cost of just two wickets, the first thing Thakur did to commence the second half of their innings was dismiss Mitchell to break a potentially threatening 62-ball 78-run third-wicket partnership between him and opening batter Devon Conway (138). Nullifying the progress made by Conway’s third ODI century, Thakur’s triple blow successfully turned the tables for his team.

Well done @imShard you are true example of TRY TRY TILL YOU SUCCEED.

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) January 24, 2023

Known to leak runs in the process of picking key wickets at the highest level, Thakur gave away 30 runs in his first three overs in this match as well. However, the 31-year old player making amends right at the start of his second spell highlighted his ability to change the game. The fact that he has been doing the same time and again is a reason enough for the Indian team to persist with him despite his career economy rate of 6.22.

“Shardul [Thakur] has been doing it for a while. People call him magician in the squad and he came and delivered. Just need to get more games under his belt,” Sharma mentioned.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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