IND v AUS 2020: Getting Steve Smith early was a huge wicket, says Shardul Thakur

Indian paceman Shardul Thakur came into the third ODI between India and Australia as a replacement for Navdeep Saini but wasted no time in making an impact.

Shardul Thakur bowled at crucial junctures in the game and took three prized wickets: Steve Smith, Moises Henriques and Sean Abbott. The first of these was easily the biggest of the lot.

Steve Smith scored back-to-back centuries against India in the first two ODIs and made life difficult for the Indian bowlers. Chasing 302, Steve Smith's runs were the most crucial for the Australians, and he looked comfortable once again with a careful start.

Shardul Thakur, bowling his 2nd over, strayed onto Steve Smith's pads from over-the-wicket. The batsman was looking to play it behind the stumps but got a faint edge into the wicketkeeper's gloves.

Shardul Thakur will cherish Steve Smith's wicket

2-1 winners 🏆#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/fTbvQFOvcF

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 2, 2020

Although Smith has struggled against similar deliveries for some time now and teams have planned for it, Shardul Thakur accepted that this dismissal wasn't planned. After the match, he said:

"I feel sometimes we get lucky. We had to execute our plans and we wanted to put them (the Australian batsmenon the back foot and win this game. When Steve Smith was batting we had planned to bowl it into the stumps and he just edged it down the leg.

Shardul Thakur further added that although it was a lucky break, he would cherish the wicket of Australia's best batsman. He said:

"Kind of lucky in that way but I will (still) appreciate the wicket because he is a top player and to get him early in the innings while defending 302 is a huge wicket."

Although Shardul Thakur isn't part of the T20I squad, he said the win was important to take momentum into the T20I series. The 3 T20Is will kickstart on December 4 in Canberra.