Indian cricket team's hard-hitting all-rounder Hardik Pandya was adjudged man of the match for team India's victory in the last ODI of the three-match series against Australia, but young sensational speedster Shardul Thakur also emerged as the star player today with his valuable contribution to the team's hard-fought victory. The 29-year-old, playing his first match in the series against Australia, put his team in the driver's seat by taking the wicket of Aussie batting great Steve Smith for 7 runs off 15 balls. Thakur returned as India's most successful bowler, picking three wickets for 51 runs.
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Ind vs Aus: Here's how Shardul Thakur planned to get the prized wicket of Steve Smith
Shardul, who replaced senior paceman Mohammed Shami in the playing XI for the final ODI game against Australia, said after his great performance that his strategy was not to let the Australian batsmen play cut and pull shots. Thakur further talked about his bowling plan after the match and said his plan was to bowl length consistently.
"The plan was to bowl length consistently. They had scored a lot of runs through cuts and pulls in the first two games, so I decided to make them play straighter lines. That worked," said Thakur while speaking to the media after the match.
Thakur brought India big success in the 12th over of this match by taking the prized wicket of Australia's Steve Smith. The star batsman, who scored consecutive centuries in the first 2 matches, today could manage to score only 7 runs against India.
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"I feel sometimes we get lucky. Wanted his wicket to put them on the backfoot. I had planned bowling at his stumps and he edged down the leg side. Getting him early while defending 302 was big. The win gave us the momentum to go into the T20I series," added Thakur.
Ind vs Aus: Shardul Thakur in red hot form ahead of Ind vs Aus T20I series
With brilliant performance against Australia in the final ODI game, Shardul has staked claim to make a place in the playing eleven for the upcoming T20 series. After a 2–1 defeat in the 3-match series, the Indian team will try to settle the score in the T20 series. The 3-match T20 series will start in Canberra from Friday, 4th December.