India allrounder Shardul Thakur had a huge task in front of him when he came out to bat on Day 3 of the 4th Test against Australia in Brisbane. India had goen down six for 186, and were still trailing Australia by 183 runs. Shardul had to stitch a partnership with debutant Washington Sundar to take India close to Aussies' first-innings total.
In a match that saw many heroic performances from India, Shardul's innings of 67-runs was one of the most important ones. It was his maiden Test fifty, and it gave India a chance to restrict Australia to a total that they could chase in the 2nd innings.
But one of the most-talked-about moments from Shardul's innings was his six off Nathan Lyon which completed his half century. In a recent interview with Sports Today, the batsman recalled what went down.
“I was defending a lot against Nathan Lyon and at some point, he was going to bowl a flighted delivery. Earlier he was bowling nice, flat, and away from me and so I couldn't score runs off him.
"He had three fielders at the back on the leg side and so I couldn't slog him as well. But the whole idea was to keep moving my feet, like step out, sometimes go back, use my feet well against him so that I get the best chance to navigate against his bowling. He was bowling well,” he added.
“I had no plans to hit him for a six but as the ball was delivered, I just tried to step out and while doing so I found the ball in my slot. I had played few deliveries earlier as well, so I thought it was better to go with the shot and complete my fifty and send him off the park,” he further said.
{{/usCountry}}“I had no plans to hit him for a six but as the ball was delivered, I just tried to step out and while doing so I found the ball in my slot. I had played few deliveries earlier as well, so I thought it was better to go with the shot and complete my fifty and send him off the park,” he further said.
{{/usCountry}}India won the match by 3 wickets to script a memorable win at Gabba and win the series 2-1