‘Wicket falls if you just bowl’ – Ravi Ashwin astonished with Shardul Thakur’s stellar spell in Johannesburg Test

Shardul Thakur’s happy knack of taking wickets has helped Team India once again. The right-arm pacer ran through South Africa’s batting line-up in the ongoing second Test to bring his side back in the contest. With Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Mohammed Shami being in the ranks, Thakur didn’t get the ball till the 38th over.

Stand-in Indian skipper KL Rahul introduced him just before lunch on Day 2 and the pacer delivered a stellar spell. He took three wickets in no time as the Proteas side suffered a shocking batting collapse. Thakur even went onto take a five-wicket haul, earning praises from different corners. Interestingly, Thakur was seen as the weakest cog of India’s bowling attack in this match. However, the 30-year-old stunned the cricket world with a top-class spell.

Even Ravichandran Ashwin was left perplexed by his success. The veteran off-spinner came up with a hilarious remark when Thakur made debutant Kyle Verreynne his fourth victim of the innings. “Yarra nee, engendhu da pudichanga unna? Nee ball potaale wicket vizhum,” Ashwin said in Tamil which roughly translates to: “Who are you? Wicket falls if you just bowl.”

Ravi Ashwin leaves fans in splits

The spinner’s remarks were recorded in the stump microphone and went viral in no time. Fans were left in splits as even the sharp-minded Ashwin couldn’t decode the reason behind Thakur’s stellar show. Meanwhile, former South African pacer Morne Morkel reckons Proteas batters got a bit complacent against Thakur.

“South Africa absorbed the pressure and the key was to fight through the first hour, get through Shami and Bumrah, and there on you can get the scoring options. You could see Siraj was only bowling at 50 per cent. The table was set for South Africa but the game changes so quickly. You can’t lose concentration for a second as Shardul Thakur came and broke open the South African top-order,” said Morkel on Star Sports.

Meanwhile, South Africa have gone past India’s first-innings total of 202 despite Thakur’s heroics. However, the home team needs to bat last on this surface. Hence, it would be intrusting to see how the remaining clash pans out.