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Rohit Sharma said to me 'let the match get over, I'll teach Shardul Thakur a lesson,' recalls Ajinkya Rahane
Despite being a fabulous batter, there have been occasions when Thakur's batting has frustrated the onlookers. One such incident was narrated by Ajinkya Rahane when Shardul's batting left Rohit Sharma fuming.
Shardul Thakur has proven time and again that he is a valuable asset with not the just the ball, but also with the bat. Despite breaking partnerships, Shardul has bailed India out of trouble while batting, with all three of his half-centuries coming at crucial junctures. His maiden Test fifty against Australia was the stuff of legends as he and Washington Sundar's memorable partnership gave India a lease of life in the famous Gabba Test against Australia. A few months later, Shardul's twin fifties against England at The Oval played a huge role in India picking up a win.
Having said that, there have been occasions when Thakur's batting has frustrated the onlookers. One such incident was narrated by Ajinkya Rahane when Shardul's batting left Rohit Sharma fuming. This was during the second innings of the Gabba Test as India were marching towards chasing down 328. With India losing Mayank Agarwal and Washington Sundar in quick succession, Shardul joined a set Rishabh Pant, but while he was expected to take India over the finishing line with his partner, the India all-rounder played a rash shot and got out for two.
"Shardul Thakur was walking in when Washington got out. Rohit told him 'This is your opportunity of becoming a hero'. And he just nodded and left," Rahane said on the documentary 'Bandon Mein Tha Dum' streaming on VOOT.
R Ashwin weighed in, saying: "As he was about to go, Rohit said, "Shardul, finish it". This is exactly what he said, I totally understand Shardul. He would have imagined… 'like how Ravi bhai said, Dhoni hits a six and wins the World Cup'. So inside Shardul's head, he has already figured out the moment, the commentary, the book the movie, everything. So Shardul's gone for it, it's gone to short square leg and got out. And everybody inside is like "What are you doing?"
Rahane then added: "Rohit was sitting next to me. He said, 'let the match get over, let us win, I will teach him a lesson'. I said 'forget it, we'll see once the match is over'."
Despite Shardul's wicket, India went on to win the match by three wickets with Rishabh Pant's epic innings of an unbeaten 89 taking the team over the line. With the win, India breached the fortress of Gabba, handing the Aussies their first defeat at the venue in 32 years and won the series 2-1.
