Indian all-rounder Shardul Thakur registered the best bowling figures in Test cricket by an Indian against South Africa but the pacer feels his best is "yet to come" in the longest format.
Thakur scalped seven wickets as South Africa were bundled out for 229 in the first innings of the second Test on Day 2 (Tuesday).
When he was asked about his performance, Shardul replied, "Yes it is my best figures but my best is always yet to come I would say."
Thakur overcame teammate Ravichandran Ashwin’s record of 7/66 which he achieved in Nagpur in 2015. Also, he bettered recently retired Harbhajan Singh’s bowling figures of 7/120, he achieved in 2011 in Cape Town.
On the other hand, the best bowling figures for an Indian seamer in South Africa conditions previously belonged to Javagal Srinath who registered 6/76 in Port Elizabeth.
11 wickets fell on Day 2
At Stumps on Day 2, India's scorecard read 85/2 with Cheteshwar Pujara (35 not out) and Ajinkya Rahane (11 not out) batting. Just like Day 1, 11 wickets fell on the second day as Thakur dominated the proceedings on Tuesday.
"My performance in domestic cricket with red-ball cricket and white-ball cricket has been rewarded. Whenever given an opportunity to play for India, I am always up for it and especially in Test cricket as it is the purest form of the game," said the 30-year-old pacer after in the press conference.
The Maharashtra-born pacer also equalled former English fast bowler Matthew Hoggard’s record of best bowling figures by a touring bowler at the Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg. Hoggard achieved 7/61 in the fourth innings of the Test match after taking a fifer in the previous innings.
Thakur achieved a personal best as well since he started playing competitive cricket. 7/61 is his best bowling figures across all formats. His previous best bowling figures in First-Class cricket were 6/31.
27-run lead
Thakur’s seven-wicket haul helped India to bundle out the Proteas for 229 and restrict their first innings lead to a mere 27.
Thakur earned the major breakthrough by getting skipper Dean Elgar out followed by half-centurion Keegan Petersen. He broke Proteas batting lineup’s back by dismissing the middle-order batters and later returned to wrap up the innings.
