Shardul Thakur: I remembered Ravi Shastri’s words

When Shardul Thakur stepped out to bat on Sunday rescuing India from a precarious 1866 was not the only target on his mind as he was also keen to impress the Australian crowd after being told how ldquorewardingrdquo it would feel by coach Ravi ShastriRavi ShastriIndia were staring down the barrel at 186 for six on the third day of the fourth and final Test but Thakur 67 joined hands with debutant Washington Sundar 62 for a combative 123run seventh wicket stand which helped his team cut down Australiarsquos first innings lead to just 33 runsldquoWhen I walked in the situation was difficult I would not deny that The crowd was cheering for Australians bowlers But I remembered our coach Ravi Shastri saying right at the start of the oneday series that lsquoif you perform in this country you will be rewardedrsquordquo Thakur talked about the inspiration behind the unfazed manner with which he batted ldquoPeople will love you for your performances and this was also on my mindrdquoBatting at No 8 Thakur impressed with his strokeplay his drives coming straight out of coaching manual At stumps Australia were 54 ahead after reaching 21 for no loss in their second innings following Indiarsquos 336 ldquoAt the end of the day it would help my team that was the biggest positive These two things were on my mind The crowd would make a noise but if I bat well the same crowd will cheer for merdquo Thakur said at a virtual postplay press conferenceCheered not just the crowd but also his teammates who gave him a standing ovation on his way back to the dressing room Thakur spoke about his love for batting and how he waited for such an opportunity ldquoI have some batting talent Whenever the throwdown specialists with the team are available I practise These are the moments you train and wait for and you could do something for the team The idea was to spend time it would add runs and the deficit will also decreaserdquoHe also admitted that travelling with the lsquoArsquo team in this part of the world helped him improve ldquoThe lsquoArsquo tours are meant for second line up They have helped a lot We were here in 2016 When you play on those tours the transition from India lsquoArsquo to India is not difficult Itrsquos how you execute your plansrdquoTweet talkVirat KohliimVkohliSundarwashi5 and imShard This is what test cricket is all about Washy top composure on debut and tula parat maanla re ThakurBrief scoresAustralia 369 amp 210 v India S Thakur 67 W Sundar 62 R Sharma 44 J Hazlewood 557 M Starc 288 P Cummins 294