New Delhi: After Team India witnessed a major batting collapse on Day 1 of the India vs England Oval Test on Thursday, all-rounder Shardul Thakur, playing his first Test in the ongoing Ind vs Eng Test series, played a heroic innings of 57 runs off 36 balls with a remarkable strike rate of 158.33, along with stitching a solid partnership with Umesh Yadav to help India reach 191 runs at Stumps On Day 1, before being bowled out.
Shardul made a new world record by becoming the first batsman to score the fastest fifty in Test cricket in England. He faced a total of 36 balls during his stormy innings of 57 runs and hit seven fours and three sixes.
Shardul Thakur's half-century was the fastest by any batsman in Tests in England and second fastest fifty in Test cricket by any Indian batsman.
Reacting to Shardul's batting masterclass in the Oval, fans on Twitter hailed the Indian all-rounder by giving him nicknames like 'Bull', 'Beefy' and even 'Lord Shardul'. When Shardul was quizzed about the legendary nicknames and love he received for his heroic knock, he said: "Only two of those are my nicknames. Lord is just a meme, started on social media.
"But, yeah, I'm pretty happy I am getting so much love from my team-mates, and everyone," he added.
Talking about his innings in the ongoing Ind vs Eng 4th Test, Shardul said: "Whenever you get the opportunity you have to take the responsibility by hook or crook."
"I always see it as a challenge that whenever I get my batting I have do something to create an impact. Our batting coach and our throwdown experts kept giving me the confidence that I can score runs so on this day I had to deliver," he signed off.
1983 World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev still holds the record for scoring the fastest fifty by an Indian batsman in Test cricket. The legendary all-rounder had scored a fifty off just 30 balls against Pakistan in Karachi in 1982.