IND vs NZ 2023: People call him magician in the squad – Rohit Sharma lauds Shardul Thakur

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma hailed the performances of Shardul Thakur after the team defeated New Zealand by 90 runs in the third ODI at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore on Tuesday. Thakur returned with figures of 3-45 in the six overs he bowled and helped India in restricting the opposition.

The right-arm pacer went wicketless in his opening spell but accounted for Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham and Glenn Phillips in his second spell to put India in front. New Zealand lost all of these three wickets in quick succession (for only 16 runs) and Thakur was able to deliver for the team.

Furthermore, Thakur played a good cameo of 17-ball 25 in the first innings and put on 54 runs with Hardik Pandya to help India post 385 runs on the board.

Rohit Sharma said in the post-match presentation, “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. We bowled pretty well, stuck to our plans, and held our nerve. Shardul has been doing it for a while. People call him magician in the squad and he came and delivered.”

On the other hand, Rohit also lauded the performance of Shubman Gill, who scored a scintillating knock of 112 runs in the third game. Gill scored a total of 360 runs in three matches at an average of 180 and a strike rate of 128.57.

Furthermore, the Indian skipper was impressed with the way Kuldeep Yadav has bowled in the recent past. Yadav took three wickets in the final game and he has been providing crucial breakthroughs in the middle overs.

Rohit added, “Every time I have given Kuldeep the ball he has given breakthroughs and taken important wickets. The wrist spinners get better with game time. Gill’s approach is quite similar to every game. Wants to start afresh every game. As a youngster, coming into the team and having that attitude is great. He could have taken it lightly but he doesn’t seem to be that type. 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. Honestly, we don’t talk much about rankings. We discuss mainly doing the right things on the field. Australia is a quality team and things won’t be easy for us but I am pretty sure we will be up for it.”

India will take on New Zealand in the first T20I at the JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi on Friday.