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Shardul Thakur entered the elite list of legendary batters with a stroke of luck as he hit a half-century to stage India’s comeback in World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final. Thakur scored his third consecutive half-century at the Kennington Oval, London. The Indian all-rounder became the third visiting batter in Test cricket history to achieve this feat.
When legends did it
Sir Don Bradman was the first to achieve the feat from 1930-34 with three consecutive fifty-plus scores at the Oval from 1930-1934. More than 50 years later, former Australian skipper Allan Border became the second to do it at the Oval from 1985-89.
Indians with similar record
Thakur also became the fourth Indian batter to register three consecutive fifty-plus scores at a particular venue in England. Vinoo Mankad was the first to do it at the Lord’s London from 1946 to 1952. At Headingley, Leeds, Dilip Vengasarkar did it from 1979-86. Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly did it at Trent Bridge, Nottingham from 2002-07.
Thakur’s fighting knock
Thakur walked in to bat at no.8 when Srikar Bharat got out on the first ball he faced on Day 3. Two catches of Thakur were dropped early in the innings in slip cordon. Also, he was given out on a no ball and the decision was reversed upon reviewing.
He shared a 109-run partnership for the seventh wicket with Ajinkya Rahane to help India avoid follow-on. It is the joint second-highest partnership for India in an ICC tournament final. In addition, this was India's sixth century partnership for seventh wicket or below on England soil. Interestingly, Thakur has been a part of two of these century partnerships.
The 31-year-old got to his half-century from 108 deliveries. His was the ninth wicket to fall in the innings. Cameron Green bowled one outside off and Thakur edged it to wicketkeeper Alex Carey. He scored 51 runs from 109 deliveries including six fours. His knock helped India post 296 in reply to Australia’s 469.
Thakur's first half-century at the Oval was in 2021. He scored 57 runs from just 36 deliveries. His second notable knock at the Oval was 60 runs from 72 balls.
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