Rohit Sharma on Shardul Thakur: People call him magician in the squad and he came and delivered

Tags: New Zealand tour of India, 2023, India vs New Zealand, 3rd ODI at Indore, Jan 24, 2023, India, New Zealand, Rohit Gurunath Sharma

Published on: Jan 25, 2023

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Team India skipper Rohit Sharma hailed all-rounder Shardul Thakur for his impactful performance in the Indore ODI against New Zealand on Tuesday, January 24. Thakur was named Player of the Match for his figures of 3/45 and 25 runs as India beat the Kiwis by 90 runs.

Sent into bat after losing the toss, India posted massive 385 for 9 on the board as Rohit and Shubman Gill hit hundreds. Thakur and Kuldeep Yadav then claimed three wickets each as India held New Zealand to 295 in 41.2 overs despite Devon Conway’s 100-ball 138.

At the post-match conference, Rohit opened up on a number of aspects of India’s win. Asked about Player of the Match Thakur, he said, “Has been doing it for a while. People call him magician in the squad and he came and delivered. Just need to get more games under his belt.”

He also hailed his young opening partner Gill for showing the hunger and notching up his third three-figure score in four ODI innings. Rohit commented, “Gill's approach is quite similar every game. Wants to start afresh every game. As a youngster, coming into the team and to have that attitude is great. He could have taken it lightly but he doesn't seem to be that type.”

Speaking of his own performance, Rohit scored his first one-day hundred in over 1000 days and 30th overall. Admitting the knock was important, the 35-year-old said, “Today's hundred means a lot to me. I've been batting well, so it was just about going that extra mile. The pitch was good today.”

On being the No. 1 ranked ODI side following the win against New Zealand in Indore on Tuesday, Rohit said that the team doesn’t talk much about rankings. He reacted, “We discuss mainly about doing the right things on the field.

“I thought in the last six games we played we did most parts right and that is the key in 50-over games. We were consistent too. WIthout Siraj and Shami I knew we wanted to give chances to people on the bench. Wanted to get Chahal and Umran in the mix. We wanted to see how they react under pressure. I know we had the runs on the board, but I don't think any score is safe here (in Indore),” he added.

After a T20I series against the Kiwis, India will face Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Asked about the challenge, he concluded, “Australia is a quality team and things won't be easy for us but I am pretty sure we will be up for it.”

--By A Cricket Correspondent

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