Shardul Thakur reveals the advice he received from Rohit Sharma before guiding India to win

India fast bowler Shardul Thakur has revealed the piece of advice he received from vice-captain Rohit Sharma that helped him guide the team to a thrilling win in the must-win fourth T20I against England in Ahmedabad. Thakur was the pick of the bowlers for India, taking 3 crucial wickets for 42 runs off his four overs.

Chasing 186, England were very much in contention when Thakur came to bowl the 17th over. With Ben Stokes and Eoin Morgan in the middle, England had a good chance of chasing down the big total. However, Thakur dismissed the English stars on consecutive deliveries to reduce the visitors to 140 for 6 and put India on top.

Thakur was also given the responsibility of defending 23 runs in the final over and he managed to do it successfully. After conceding 14 runs on the first four balls, the right-arm pacer took a wicket on the fifth and then bowled a dot to power India to a series-levelling win. Speaking after the game, Thakur revealed how Rohit’s advice helped him do well with the ball. Rohit was leading the team when Virat Kohli was out in the pavilion attending a foot niggle.

“Rohit said just back your instincts, think, take your time. He mentioned that one side of the ground is bigger and the other is short so plan your bowling and execute your balls [accordingly],” said Shardul Thakur in the post-match presentation.

Shardul Thakur on bowling the last over

Shardul Thakur further spoke about the final over of the match where he was under immense pressure after getting off to a poor start. After conceding a single on the first ball, he was hit for a four and a six by Jofra Archer before he bowled two wides. But Thakur bounced back in style and conceded just one run on the final three balls to take India home in a thrilling manner.

“There wasn’t much dew in the last three games but in this game, there was dew. So definitely a tough last over. They [England batsmen] were swinging hard and they were always going to go for runs. It was important to bowl those 1 or 2 dot balls and the game was sealed,” said Shardul Thakur.

“There was dew coming in so had we bowled the slower ones on the stumps or a little fuller then it would have been easier to hit. So the idea was to hit it into the pitch and keep it away from their power zone,” he added.

The series is currently locked at 2-2 and will be decided on Saturday (March 20) when both the teams lock horns against each other in the fifth and final T20I at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.