WATCH: Shardul Thakur outsmarts Prithvi Shaw with slower ball, but Dhoni drops the catch
Shardul Thakur has been MS Dhoni’s go-to man whenever the chips are down on the field, and with Prithvi Shaw dominating the early proceedings in the Qualifier 1, it was imperative for the Chennai Super Kings captain to bring him inside the powerplay. The Delhi Capitals had gained great momentum already by then, and the early part of his over was a battle won by Shaw again.
Prithvi Shaw welcomed him with a six off his first ball. Shardul Thakur had bowled it just short of good length and was smacked over the mid-wicket boundary. He followed it up with another beautiful shot off the fifth ball of the over when he hit it straight-batted down the ground to clear the ropes. Thakur’s cross-seamed attempts had not reaped the benefits, hence he resorted to a slower one next up.
Credits to Thakur, he managed to find an edge when the batter tried to cut it over the short third-person fielder, but the thick top-edge carried just wide of the keeper. MS Dhoni flew to his right to get a hand on it but grassed it. Shardul’s ploy was nearly worked to perfection, but it lacked the end product.
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Shaw went on to complete his half-century and added further misery to the Chennai Super Kings, leaving Thakur disappointed.
Here’s the video of that dropped attempt by MS Dhoni off Shardul Thakur’s bowling:
— No caption needed (@jabjabavas) October 10, 2021
Shardul Thakur continues to impress
Having picked up a whopping 18 wickets this season, Thakur has now registered his best season tally of wickets in IPL. He had picked up 16 wickets when Chennai won the title in 2018, and is once again leading the way with the ball. He has provided crucial breakthroughs for the franchise this season and has produced some decent spells in the death as well.
His outstanding performances for the Indian Test team raised his profile as a professional cricketer, and having made it to the reserves of the T20 World Cup squad, he is a genuine contender to enter the main squad in case of a rejig.