'Lord is just a meme': Shardul Thakur addresses his nicknames, says happy to get so much love from teammates

India captain Virat Kohli scored a fifty before he was dismissed by Ollie Robinson, but the rest of the Indian batting failed to shine. Until Shardul Thakur came on to bat.

India allrounder Shardul Thakur showcased his skills with the bat on Day 1 of the fourth Test against England at The Oval in London on Thursday. After England captain Joe Root won the toss and elected to bowl, the visitors were in for a tough task having to bat under overcast conditions.

India's Shardul Thakur hits runs off the bowling of England's Chris Woakes. (AP)

India captain Virat Kohli scored a fifty before he was dismissed by Ollie Robinson, but the rest of the Indian batting failed to shine. Until Shardul Thakur came on to bat.

The right-hander smashed three sixes and seven fours to register 57 runs in 36 balls at a strike rate of 158.33. He also scored the second-fastest Test fifty by an Indian batsman. Twitter applauded Shardul for his performance, and after the day's play, the Indian allrounder was quizzed about the nicknames being given to him on social media by the fans.

Shardul has been called 'Beefy', 'Bull' and even 'Lord'. On being asked about the same at the virtual press conference, he said: "Only two of those are my nicknames. Lord is just a meme, started on social media.

"But, yeah, I'm pretty happy I am getting so much love from my team-mates, and everyone," he added.

Speaking about his innings, the 29-year-old said: "Whenever you get the opportunity you have to take the responsibility by hook or crook."

"I always see it as a challenge that whenever I get my batting I have do something to create an impact. Our batting coach and our throwdown experts kept giving me the confidence that I can score runs so on this day I had to deliver," he signed off.