'Tula maanla re Thakur' - Virat Kohli tweets for Shardul Thakur after his batting exploits in Cuttack

During Sunday’s encounter between India and West Indies at Barabati Stadium, Cuttack, Shardul Thakur played one heck of a knock as a tail-ender and helped his team beat the visitors by four wickets in team’s run-chase of 316. Shardul Thakur stayed sublime in the nerve-wracking situation and then went on a pulverization of his own. It was more of a trade-off for some of the free boundaries (2 fours, 1 six) he was given.

On the other end of the spectrum, West Indies gave absolutely everything to stop India from winning at home. But they failed to do so. The visitors received a painful beating that can give them sleepless nights. India registered yet another series win over West Indies by 2-1, in what was their 10th straight bilateral series win over them- the most against any opposition team in contemporary cricket.

When asked to bat first, West Indies got off to a pretty good start on the back of Shai Hope (42) and Evin Lewis (21). The duo added 57 runs in the opening partnership. India pulled things back in the game and managed to induce more nervous minutes into Caribbeans’ mind. The tourists failed to turn up the heat before Nicholas Pooran and Kieron Pollard took charge. Even after the half part of innings, West Indies hardly showed teeth in their attack despite managing to score less than 100 runs.

However, Pooran and Pollard switched gears and took the Indian bowling attack to cleaners and ensured that West Indies get a challenging total. Nicholas Pooran was the pick of West Indies’ batting line-up as he bludgeoned 89 off just 64 balls and his partner Pollard smashed 74 from just 51. In reply, Indian vice-captain Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul chipped in with 63 and 77 respectively to steady the ship for the run chase.

India were in the comfort zone at 188 for 2 but then experienced a mini heart-attack as they lost three quick wickets that saw scoreboard at 228/5. But Virat Kohli held his nerves and scored a magnificent 85 and it was when India needed 30 runs off 23. Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur managed to put up a match-winning partnership and helped India ace the run chase in a grand fashion.

Virat Kohli heaps praise on Shardul Thakur

Shardul Thakur was tonked to all parts of the ground by the Caribbeans as the Indian pacer leaked as many as 66 runs picking up 1 wicket. But he delivered the much-needed amends with the bat by scoring a quick-fire 17 from just 6. After the game, Virat Kohli made sure to compliment Shardul Thakur. The India captain Virat Kohli took to his official Twitter account to post a selfie with Shardul Thakur and wrote: “Tula maanla re Thakur” translating it to English- “I bow down to you Thakur”.