As soon as Shardul Thakur replaced the injured Mohammed Siraj on Day 2 of the Johannesburg Test between India and South Africa on Tuesday, the 30-year-old pacer did not take long to do what he does best – break a promising-looking partnership. South Africa had kept India wicketless in the first hour of the day with Dean Elgar and Keegan Petersen putting on a fifty-run partnership, but the threatening stand was broken by Thakur, who had Elgar out caught behind.
No sooner was social media flooded with Lord Shardul hashtags. It’s a term that has become synonymous with Thakur everytime he is in action – with either bat or ball. He ended up becoming the star of the day, claiming 7/61 which is the best bowling figures registered by any bowler in and India-South Africa Test.
Following the day's play, Thakur, for the first time, spoke about the nickname that has been associated with him, revealing its origin.
“I seriously don’t know who started naming me Lord. But I am sure it started in a series against England. It was the home series after we returned from Australia just before the IPL. It was a series where I got a lot of wickets and mostly two consecutive wickets in an over. So the name arrived from there,” Thakur told India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey after the day’s play, a video of which was uploaded by the BCCI.
Thakur, who picked his maiden five-wicket-haul in Tests, en route to registering his career-best figures, revealed his success mantra and the thought process he followed on Day 2 of the Wanderers Test.
{{/usCountry}}Thakur, who picked his maiden five-wicket-haul in Tests, en route to registering his career-best figures, revealed his success mantra and the thought process he followed on Day 2 of the Wanderers Test.
{{/usCountry}}“When I enter the ground, everything is about self-belief for me. I go in with full confidence and there are no second measures. I think it’s simple and a small mantra for my success. I play to win and I want to carry this form forward. Even when I look at other players, I like those who like to win the game for the team,” Thakur added.
“I was just trying to pitch the ball in the right spot looking at my bowling. There was natural help from the pitch so I was looking for a little bit of swing here and there. And rest I think… god willing I got seven wickets and happy to have contributed for the team.”