The World Test Championship championship match between India and Australia, which will begin on Wednesday at The Oval, has been dubbed a “once-in-a-lifetime moment” by Shardul Thakur.
The World Test Championship final between India and Australia, which begins on Wednesday at The Oval, has been dubbed a “once-in-a-lifetime moment” by fast-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur of India. He wants to make it count. Since the Rohit Sharma-led squad will undoubtedly want to go into the match with an expanded batting line-up, it remains to be seen if Thakur, who has played three of his eight Tests thus far in England, makes it to the starting XI. The 31-year-old, though, asserts that he is prepared to make the game matter in the end.
“I feel that ICC event, finals especially, you don’t get to play them everywhere each and every year, so it’s, for a few players or somebody like me, a once-in-a-lifetime moment,” Thakur said to the ICC.
“I just want to make it count,” he continued. When you are representing your country, especially India, where a billion people aspire to play for the country but only the top 15 have been picked, it is always a unique experience, Thakur continued.
Thakur’s argument will be difficult to dismiss because, during India’s 157-run victory against England at The Oval in September 2021, he scored two half-centuries (57 and 60) and took three wickets.
“While it’s always a good idea to have in mind your past performances on a specific surface, every game is a new opportunity. Although this time around’s opponents are different, it’s still a good idea to draw inspiration from prior successes on a particular surface, he added.
Since bowlers frequently have an edge in cloudy situations, Thakur advised batsmen to exploit their advantage in England when the sun is shining.
“I believe that England is difficult because of this strange weather. The toss scarcely matters since it’s all about the cloud cover. “When the sun is out, it’s wonderful for batting, and when it’s gloomy, it’s fantastic for bowling.One of the biggest issues a hitter confronts is predicting how much the ball will move because, while the pitch obviously plays a huge part, we’ve observed in the past that anytime there is cloud cover the ball immediately starts swinging.
According to Thakur, “England (also) has the best pitches to bat on when it’s not swinging, so it becomes equally tough for bowlers.” This is a tricky nation because even in good conditions it might be difficult to locate the correct length to nip a batter off or strike his pads.
