Shardul Thakur ‘Lords’ over South Africa in 2nd Test with maiden 5-wicket haul

Shardul Thakur was the toast of the day on Tuesday for India in Johannesburg as he took his maiden five-wicket haul in Test cricket to put the visitors on top in the decisive second match against South Africa.

The South Africans resisted the efforts of India’s premier fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami while Mohammed Siraj was still looking unsure after his hamstring injury on Monday. Thakur has been given the monicker of ‘Lord’ by fans and is often called ‘Beefy’ – which was England all-round great Ian Botham’s nickname – by his Indian team mates as a nod towards his all-round performances in international cricket.

South Africa vs India 2nd Test Day 2 Live

He ended up fulfilling that tag by pegging the Proteas back whenever they looked set to put up a good partnership throughout the day.

Thakur started the day by ending a stubborn 74-run stand for the second wicket between South Africa captain Dean Elgar and Keegan Petersen. The pair had batted out 211 balls and Thakur dismissed Elgar on 28 off 120 balls to get the breakthrough for India around 90 minutes into Day 2. Petersen brought up his first test half century but then followed back to the dressing room when he was caught in the slips off Thakur for 62.

Temba Bavuma and Kyle Verreyne then put up South Africa’s second significant stand of the day before both fell to Thakur. Verreyne was trapped LBW for 21 while Bavuma fell as soon as he went past his half century to make five for Thakur.

Thakur is the sixth Indian bowler to take a Test five-wicket haul in Johannesburg. Interestingly, two of the other five bowlers are his teammates Shami and Bumrah.

[“source=indiatoday”]